«:N;\';»ss.s't.'. 


cn  cTi  cn  cn  cn  cri  c □ m fp  rT^  IIP  rp  1 1 ir  rp  rp  rp TP  rp  I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/detaiis/contemporaryarti00benj_0 


By  S.  G.  W.  benjamin 

AUTHOR  OF  “THE  TURK  AND  THE  GREEK”  “WHAT  IS  ART” 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


I!  A U 1’  K \i 


N K W V ()  U K 

.1'  r>  HOT  II  K 1^S,  HUHLISIIKHS 


FRANKI.IN  S(ilTAKE 

1877 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1877,  by 
HARPER  & BROTHERS, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO 

The  Rev.  MARK  HOPKINS,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

THE  REVERED  PRECEPTOR  AND  GUIDE 
OF  MY  COLLEGE  YEARS, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  GRATEFULLY  AND  RESPECTFULLY 


Jnscribeb 


INTRODUCTION 


The  articles  on  Contemporary  Art  in  Europe  wliicli  appeared  recently 
in  Harper’s  Monthly  Magazine  have  been  received  by  both  the  critics 
and  the  public  with  a gratifying  degree  of  favor.  This  seems,  therefore, 
to  l)e  ample  justification  for  republishing  these  papers  in  their  present 
form,  with  the  addition  of  considerable  fresh  material.  The  illustrations 
commend  themselves  as  excellent  examples  of  the  fine  feeling  for  the  art 
of  engraving  already  reached  by  our  best  engravers. 

The  subject  is  one  which  especially  claims  the  attention  of  the  Ameri- 
can public  at  the  present  time.  At  no  previous  period  in  our  history  has 
so  wide  and  keen  an  interest  been  taken  in  art.  We  are  evidently  en- 
tering upon  a period  of  art  development  that  shall  crystallize  the  still 
unformed  and  unorgariized  art  talent  of  the  community  into  art  schools 
such  as  have  distinguished  the  Old  World.  All  the  analogy  of  past  his- 
tory indicates  that  the*  energies  called  forth  by  a great  struggle  for  na- 
tional existence  find  in  the  following  generation  a full  harvest  of  intel- 
lectual activity.  In  this  way  have  been  born  the  great  schools  of  art  and 
letters. 

We  as  a nation  have  just  passed  through  such  a crisis,  and  are  now 
apparently  entering  upon  our  era  of  mental  development.  It  will  not 
come  for  tlie  seeking  alone ; nor,  on  the  other  hand,  will  it  come  if  we 
simply  wait  for  it.  Manifest  destiny  is  accomplished  by  meeting  Provi- 
dence and  harmoniously  adapting  ourselves  to  its  designs. 

As  one  of  many  means  for  achieving  our  art  destiny,  it  behooves  us. 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


therefore,  to  study  the  arts  of  other  ages  and  races,  for  the  better  appre- 
hension of  the  principles  which  nnderlie  art  growth.  This  is  doubtless, 
to  some  degree,  inseparable  from  the  observation  of  methods,  which  is, 
however,  quite  a different  thing  from  imitating  them : every  school  of 
good  art  employs  methods  of  its  own.  The  art  whose  methods  and  ideas 
are  borrowed  is  at  best  a very  equivocal  kind  of  art.  Spontaneity  is  the 
soul  of  art,  individuality  of  expression  its  end. 

The  author  has  endeavored,  in  the  following  pages,  honestly  and  ear- 
nestly to  give  his  own  views  upon  the  present  condition  of  European  art, 
without  regard  to  sex,  sect,  or  race,  or  the  perhaps  contrary  opinions 
which  may  be  held  by  certain  distinguished  art  critics  and  artists,  con- 
scious that  criticism  swayed  by  prejudice  is  no  criticism  at  all.  He  has 
heartily  tried,  with  candor  and  fairness,  to  be  just. 

Art  has  its  philosophy  of  growth ; and  since  it  is  no  more  absurd  to 
build  the  roof  of  a house  before  the  foundation  is  laid  than  to  criticise 
an  art  -without  also  considering  the  conditions  which  underlie  its  exist- 
ence, the  historic  and  ethnic  principles  which  have  caused  the  present 
European  schools  have  necessarily  received  some  attention. 


CONTENTS 


I.— CONTEMPORAKY  ART  IN  ENGLAND. 

PAGE 

Characteristics  of  Different  Schools  of  Art 13 

Art  Attractions  of  London 14 

Social  Condition  of  English  Artists 17 

Art  Clubs  and  Exhibitions 19 

Government  Art  Patronage 22 

Results  of  Present  System  of  Art  Training 24 

Romantic  School 25 

Religious  Art 28 

Ethics  in  Art 29 

Genre  Painters 30 

Historical  Art 34 

Battle-painters 30 

Landscape  Art 40 

Water-colorists 41 

Marine  Artists 42 

Portraiture 43 

Decorative  Artists 44 

Plastic  Art , 4(i 

Present  State  of  English  Architecture 51 

English  Ceramic  Art 52 

Household  Art 50 


il_contempokary  art  m trance. 

Causes  which  underlie  Art  Growth 58 

ClIAPvACTER  OF  PRESENT  ErENCH  SCHOOI 00 

Rank  of  Paris  in  the  Art  World 01 

Pecuniary  Value  of  Erench  Art.... 03 

(ioVERNMENT  DIRECTION  OF  THE  EiNE  ArTS 04 

Institutions  for  Art  Culture 04 

Art  Exhibitions 07 

Private  Art  Schools 71 


10 


CONTENTS. 


PAGK 

Art  Clubs  and  Periodicals 73 

Technical  Qualities  op  French  Art 76 

Engraving  and  Engravers 80 

French  Landscape  Artists 83 

Animal-painters 90 

Genre  Painting 91 

Historical  and  Archeological  School 94 

Paintings  of  Military  Subjects 99 

Oriental  Scenes lOo 

Eegnault  and  his  Works 10 1 

Sculptors  of  Contemporary  School 103 

Architecture  and  New  Opera-house 105 

Ceramic  and  Decorative  Art no 


iil_co^^temporaey  aet  m geemany. 

Philosophy  of  Art  Progress  in  Europe 113 

Rise  of  Modern  German  Art 115 

Present  Art  Schools  of  Germany 117 

Munich  School  of  Art 117 

Government  Patronage  at  Munich 119 

Kaulbach  and  Piloty 120 

Characteristics  of  New  Munich  School 125 

Portrait-painters  of  Munich 127 

Historical  Painters 128 

Genre  Art  at  Munich 133 

Animal-painters 137 

Landscape  Art 138 

Marine  Painters 143 

Danish  Marine  Art 143 

Architecture  and  Engraving 144 

Vienna,  Koyal  Academy  of 147 

Historical  Painters  of  Vienna 147 

German  Industrial  Art 150 

Dusseldorf  Art  School 1^0 

Carlsruhe,  Art  School  and  Society  of 151 

Berlin,  Art  School  of 152 

Royal  Academy  of  Berlin 152 

Genre  Painters  op  Berlin 153 

Historical  Art 157 

Sculpture  and  Architecture  at  Berlin 158 

Conclusion 159 


INDEX. 


161 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


SUBJECT. 

Pe.asants’  Ball 

The  Huguenot  Lovers 

Winter 

J.  E.  Millais  (Portrait) 

Esther’s  Banquet 

^none — A Sketch 

Holman  Hunt  (Portrait) 

The  Light  of  the  World 

Thomas  Faed  (Portrait) 

George  H.  Boughton  (Portrait) 

The  Mitherless  Bairn 

“What  d’ye  lack,  Madam?” 

H.  S.  Marks 

The  Princess  and  the  Pelicans 

Miss  Elizabeth  Thompson  (Portrait) 

Missing 

ViCAT  Cole  (Portrait) 

J.  C.  Hook  (Portrait) 

“Luff,  Boy,  Luff!” ' 

F.  Leighton  (Portrait).., 

The  Golden  Age 

Pillars  of  Terra-cotta,  South  Kensington 

Museum 

Landseer  Plate  (Tail-piece) 

An  Entertaining  Story 

The  Oranges 

IIippOLYTE  Adolphe  Taine  (Portrait) 

Expectation 

M.  Bonn.1t  (Portrait) 

JiEGGAR  Giri 

Hunting  with  Falcons  in  Algeria 

Gipsy  (iiRL 

.Jean  Louis  Ernest  Meissonier  (Portrait) 

La  Vedette 


ARTIST.  PAGE 

Franz  Defregger Froniispiece 

J.  E.  Millais 13 

G.  H.  Boughton 15 

18 

Edward  Armitagc 21 

E.  Biirne  Jones 25 

28 

Holman  Hunt 29 

30 

31 


Thomas  Faed 32 

J.  Pettie 34 

From  a Portrait  hg  Ouless 36 

H.  S.  Marks 37 

38 

Elizabeth  Thompson 39 

40 

41 


J.  C.  Hook 


42 

45 


Edward  J.  Poynicr. 


47 


V.  Chevilliard. 
IF.  Bouguereau 


A.  Toulmouchc 


E.  Merle 

Eugene  Eromeniin . 
A . f 'ernet-  Leeom  te . 


53 


58 


62 


r>4 

()8 

70 


/ / 


79 


J.  L.  E.  Meissonier. 


12 


ILLUSTKATIONS. 


SUBJECT. 


ARTIST. 


Gustave  Dore  (Portrait) 

Peace 

Return  of  the  Flock 

Portrait  of  General  Prim 

Ploughing  in  the  Nivernais 

Ros.\  Bonheur  (Portrait) 

Constant  Troyon  (Portrait) 

Edouard  Frere  (Portrait) 

Jules  Adolphe  Breton  (Portrait) 

Tittle-tatte  (Coquetage) 

Jean  Francois  Millet  (Portrait) 

Alexandre  Cabanel  (Portrait) 

Francesca  di  Kimini 

Jean  Leon  Gerome  (Portrait) 

L’Eminence  Grise 

The  First  Whisper 

The  Advance  Guard 

The  Retreat 

L’Aurore 

Jean  Baptiste  Carpeaux  (Portrait) 

The  Dance 

Foot  of  Grand  Staircase  of  New  Opera-house,  ^ 

Paris ^ 

Ceiling  of  the  Auditorium  of  the  New  Opera-  ^ 

HOUSE ^ 

Haviland  Faience 

Danish  Pottery 

Wilhelm  Von  Kaulbach  (Portrait) 

Bush-rangers 

Karl  Theodor  Von  Piloty  (Portrait) 

Seni  Discovering  Wallenstein  Dead 

Luther  before  Cardinal  Cajetan 

Franz  Lenbach  (Portrait) 

Gabriel  Max  (Portrait) 

The  Lion’s  Bride 

Hochheimer 

Franz  Defregger  (Portrait) 

Cossacks  Greeting  the  Steppes 

Calves  Eeturning  Home 

Fellah  Women  at  the  Fountain 

Hans  Makart  (Portrait) 

Reverie 

Ludwig  Knaus  (Portrait) 

In  a Thousand  Anxieties 

The  Last  Supper 

Statue  of  Frederick  William  III 


Gustave  Dove 

Frangois  Jacques 
Henri  EegnauU.. 
Fosa  Bonheur.... 


Jules  Adolphe  Breton 


Alexandre  Cabanel. 


Jean  Leon  Gerome 

L.  Alma  Tadema 

Alphonse  He  Neuville. 

Edouard  Detaille 

E.  Ham  on 


Jean  Baptiste  Carpeaux 


Wilhelm  Diez 


Karl  Theodor  Von  Pilotg 
Wilhelm  Lindenschmidt . . . 


Gabriel  Max 

Eduard  Grutzner. 


Joseph  Brandt. 
Anton  Braith.. 
Hans  MaJcart.. 


Gustav  Bichter. 


Ludwig  Knaus 
Von  Gebhardt . 
Albert  Wolff... 


PAGE 

80 

81 

83 

85 

88 

89 

90 

91 

92 

93 

94 

95 

96 

97 
, 98 
, 99 

100 
, 101 
, 102 
. 104 
, 105 

. 107 

, 109 

, 110 
112 
115 
. 116 
. 118 
, 119 
121 
126 
, 129 
. 130 
132 
. 134 
. 135 
, 139 
, 146 
, 148 
, 149 
, 152 
. 153 
. 155 
, 159 


L-EN  GLAND. 


^^HEKE  are  three  schools  of  art  in  Europe  at  present  which  especially 
commend  themselves  to  our  attention  in  looking  at  the  condition  of 


contemporary  art.  These  are  the 
English,  the  French,  and  the  Ger- 
man. Each  possesses  marked  traits 
of  its  own,  but  no  one  of  them  can 
he  said  to  be  in  all  respects  superior 
to  the  others,  for  it  should  be  dis- 
tinctly understood  that  difference 
between  masters  or  schools  in  art 
does  not  necessarily  imply  inferi- 
ority or  superiority^  The  truest, 
highest  art  is  the  spontaneous  out- 
growth of  the  tendencies  of  an  age 
or  of  a race,  one  of  the  signs  by 
which  we  are  enabled  to  determine 
the  character  of  an  epoch,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  close  resemblance 
in  the  style  of  the  art  of  two  dis- 
tinct peoples  implies  either  that 
they  are  of  one  stock,  or  that  one 
is  the  imitator  of  the  other,  and 
therefore  inferior,  to  the  degree 
that  a copy  is  inferior  to  an  orig- 
inal. Those  fundamental  princi- 
ples, which  underlie  all  true  art,  i 


TIIK  lUKUIENOT  LOVERS. — MILI.AIS. 


ire  too  often  forgotten,  especially  by 


many  of  our  art  amateurs  and  critics.  We  forget  that  what  may  be  the 
best  art  for  one  age  or  country  may  not  be  the  best  for  another,  and  alter- 
nately accept  oi-  (condemn  a school  or  a master  more  by  whim  or  desire 


14 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


of  change  than  by  rational  induction  or  intelligent  knowledge.  While 
admiring  tlie  old  masters  and  condemning  the  modern,  we  fail  to  consider 
that  similar  subjects  or  treatment  might  now  be  absurd,  because  not  sug- 
gested by  a later  civilization  and  different  social  conditions.  When  prais- 
ing the  French  artist  and  sneering  at  the  English  painter,  we  neglect  to 
put  ourselves  in  the  place  of  each,  in  order  to  judge  of  their  wmrks  from 
a consideration  of  the  differing  national  impulses  to  which  they  owed 
their  creation. 

It  may,  therefore,  be  profitable  to  glance  at  the  present  state  of  the  fine 
arts  in  France,  England,  and  Germany.  The  field  is  vast,  and  witliin  the 
limits  of  a single  volume  only  a general  view  of  each  can  be  given.  A 
better  period  to  study  the  condition  of  English  art  could  hardly  be  found, 
because  sufficient  time  has  now  elapsed  to  enable  one  to  judge  of  the 
value  of  the  art  impulses  caused  by  the  system  of  art  education  estab- 
lished by  the  English  government  about  the  time  of  the  great  Exhibition 
of  1852,  and  also  the  amount  of  momentum  possessed  by  the  great  pre- 
Raphaelite  movement,  l^umerous  as  are  the  art  attractions  which  London 
offers  to  the  stranger,  it  is  only  on  thoroughly  investigating  the  subject 
that  one  realizes  the  extent  of  the  field.  Leaving  out  of  consideration 
such  splendid  collections  as  the  Dulwich  and  the  National  galleries  and 
similar  permanent  collections,  and  the  magnificent  private  galleries  of  the 
old  masters  which  abound,  one  is  completely  overwhelmed  by  the  enor- 
mous amount  of  labor,  capital,  and  public  interest  expended  upon  contem- 
porary art  in  England.  It  is  in  good  times^  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
pursuits  in  the  United  Kingdom.  This  is  strikingly  indicated  by  the  ad- 
vertisements of  art  exhibitions  posted  everywhere  like  theatrical  adver- 
tisements. A familiar  and  entertaining  sight  in  Piccadilly  last  year  was  a 
woe-begone  old  tatterdemalion,  bearing  placarded  on  his  back  ‘The  Man 
of  Sorrows,’  painted  by  Sir  Koel  Patou.”  We  find  here  a distinct  craft 
or  guild,  absorbing  the  attention  of  a vast  army  of  men  and  women,  all 
laboring  to  the  same  end,  but  naturally  divided  and  subdivided  again,  ac- 
cording to  the  modern  system  of  the  division  of  labor,  into  various  classes. 

We  have,  in  the  first  place,  an  art  directory,  which  contains  the  names 
and  residences  of  nearly  four  thousand  men  and  women  devoted  to  the 
pursuit  of  the  fine  arts  in  the  United  Kingdom,  including  painters,  sculp- 
tors, architects,  and  designers,  and  this  list  is  far  from  complete.  In  ad- 
dition should  be  mentioned  over  fortv  thousand  art  students  in  the  art 


WIN'I'KK. G.  II.  HOUGHTON. 


. 


FI 


> 


V . 


J 


SOCIAL  POSITION  OF  ARTISTS. 


17 


schools.  And  here  it  should  he  added  that  as  art  education  is  not  com- 
pulsory in  England,  this  number  is  the  more  significant,  while  the  pupils 
are  also,  for  the  same  reason,  of  good  average  maturity. 

[N’ot  only  are  the  artists  strong  in  numbers,  but  they  have  also  elevated 
the  profession,  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  estimate  matters  according  to  their 
money  value,  by  making  it  a lucrative  pursuit  as  well.  Enormous  prices 
are  now  demanded  and  easily  obtained  by  successful  artists.  Millais  gets 
£2000  for  a portrait.  He  is  at  work  on  a commission  for  which  he  is  to 
receive  £15,000,  and  has  erected  a house  costing  £30,000.  Ouless,  a very 
young  artist,  in  high  favor,  commands  £800  to  £1000  for  a portrait.  Many 
of  the  artists  live  very  comfortably,  not  to  say  opulently.  Of  course  there 
is  the  reverse  side,  for  all  have  not  equal  ability,  and  some  artists  toil  un- 
known and  in  poverty  for  many  years.  Still  the  fact  remains  that  art  in 
England  now  occupies  another  position  than  formerly.  This  statement 
has  recently  received  corroboration  by  a grand  dinner  given  to  three  hun- 
dred artists  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Lady  Mayoress,  at  the  Mansion-House, 
in  the  height  of  the  London  season.  Among  other  things,  the  Lord  Mayor 
said  ‘Hie  looked  upon  the  artist  as  a man  who,  within  his  own  mind,  con- 
ceived a great  and  important  phase  of  history  and  of  life.  The  result  was 
the  production  of  pictures  which,  he  said  without  hesitation,  helped  to 
carry  on  the  great  work  of  life  by  depicting  its  noblest  sentiments,  its 
highest  aspirations,  and  its  most  glorious  actions.”  Heplies  to  the  toasts 
were  given  by  Horsley  for  the  painters,  Weekes  for  the  sculptors,  Barry 
for  the  architects,  and  Tenniel  for  periodical  art. 

Tlie  independent  and  important  position  artists  now  hold  in  England 
is  also  indicated  by  the  Artists’  Fund  Society,  divdded  into  two  branches. 
The  Artists’  Annuity  Fund  has  a funded  capital  of  £17,000,  and  provides 
for  members  in  sickness,  and  by  annuities  to  those  permanently  unfitted 
for  pursuing  their  profession.  The  Artists’  Benevolent  Fund  has  an  in- 
vested capital  of  £23,000,  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  deceased  members.  The  literature  of  contemporary  English  art  is  also 
very  large,  the  number  of  periodicals  relating  to  the  subject  increasing 
continually,  while  a class  of  professional  art  critics  has  gradually  sprung 
up,  including  some  men  of  large  capacity,  real  art  knowledge,  and  respect- 
able judgment,  such  as  Thornycroft  (who  has  just  died),  J.W.  Commyns 
Carr,  J.  Beavis  Atkinson,  Henry  Blackburn,  Philip  Gilbert  Hamerton,  and 
Dante  Gabriel  Bossetti : the  last  three  are  artists  as  well.  Buskin  has  been 

2 


18 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


too  long  before  the  public  to  require  mention,  were  it  not  to  say  that  he 
now  probably  exerts  a less  proportionate  influence  than  formerly.  With 
all  the  extravagance  of  his  works  was  blended  so  much  that  was  really 
true  and  great  that  at  one  time  he  exerted  a salutary  influence  on  Englisli 
art.  But  he  is,  after  all,  a man  of  only  one  idea ; he  cannot  adapt  himself 
to  the  shifting  forms  of  art  suggested  by  different  circumstances,  and  has 
become  so  wild  and  extravagant  in  his  more  recent  utterances  that  his 
opinions  now  carry  less  weight,  and  even  those  who  admire  the  poetic  fer- 
vor of  his  style  are  forced  to  acknowledge  that,  like  most  reformers,  the 
reforms  he  sought  to  accoinj^lisli  having  attained  their  end,  he  must  now 


J.  E.  MILLAIS. 


give  place  to  a class  of  art  critics  of  a more  practical  cast.  If  not  wield- 
ing so  powerful  and  slashing  a pen  as  this  prince  of  critics,  they  are  better 
fitted  perhaps  to  mould  the  art  opinions  of  the  present  time. 

I^aturally  connected  with  this  great  art  community,  either  as  cause  or 
effect,  and  often  as  both,  are  numerous  institutions  and  associations  for  the 
sale,  exhibition,  or  production  of  w^orks  of  art,  and  for  stimulating  an  art 
feeling.  The  chief  quarter  for  art  shops  is  around  Piccadilly,  in  Old  and 
New  Bond  Street,  Pall  Mall,  and  King  Street.  But  art  establishments 
may  be  also  frequently  found  in  many  other  leading  thoroughfares.  Chris- 
tie and  Manson,  art  auctioneers,  in  King  Street,  often  display  in  their 


ART  ASSOCIATIONS. 


19 


rooms  treasures  of  immense  rarity  and  value.  Twelve  paintings  were,  for 
example,  sold  there  on  one  afternoon  recently  for  £2500  each.  A year 
ago  three  Sevres  jardinieres  brought  £10,000  at  Christie’s.  And  besides 
the  stores  devoted  to  the  sale  of  miscellaneous  works  of  art,  there  are  gal- 
leries permanently  and  exclusively  established  for  the  exhibition  and  sale 
of  works  of  the  French,  the  Danish,  the  Belgian,  and  the  German  schools 
respectively,  and  the  works  of  Dore,  and  Mignot,  the  South  Carolinian 
painter,  who  died  in  1871,  and  so  magnificently  reproduced  the  superb 
scenery  of  Ecuador. 

The  art  clubs,  associations,  and  museums,  exclusive  of  private  galleries, 
number  seventy-one,  of  which  fifty-two  are  in  London,  and  the  remainder 
in  Dublin,  Edinburgh,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  other  leading  cities.  A 
large  number  include  art  schools  in  their  organization.  The  art  school 
of  the  London  University  ranks  very  high ; it  is  presided  over  by  E.  J. 
Poynter,  A.K.A.  The  Dudley  Gallery  also  holds  a front  position  in  the 
quality  of  the  works  it  exhibits.  It  gives  three  exhibitions  annually,  in 
oil,  water- colors,  and  black  and  white  respectively.  The  old  Society  of 
Water -colors,  which  is  now  in  its  eighty -seventh  year,  maintains  a high 
rank.  The  president  is  always  knighted  on  election ; the  present  incum- 
bent is  Sir  John  Gilbert,  w^ell  known  among  us  by  his  masterly  illustra- 
tions of  old-time  scenes.  He  has  just  been  elevated  to  the  Art  Peerage 
by  election,  to  the  Poyal  Academy. 

But  the  two  leading  art  institutions  of  Great  Britain,  which  yield  in 
importance  to  no  similar  organizations  in  the  world,  are  the  Poyal  Acad- 
emy and  the  South  Kensington  Museum.  The  former  has  now  been  es- 
tablished one  hundred  and  eight  years.  The  president  is  Sir  Francis 
Grant ; like  his  predecessors,  he  was  knighted  upon  election.  lie  is  fa- 
vorably known  as  entitled  to  a prominent  place  among  contemporary 
portrait  artists,  besides  executing  a number  of  historical  works  like  the 
“Battle  of  Ferozeshah.”  Until  this  year  the  Academy  has  numbered 
forty-two  Academicians  and  twenty-six  Associates.  But  ten  Associates 
have  just  been  added.  Tliis  increase  has  been  owing  to  a clamor  long 
heard  and  finally  reaching  a climax  sufficient  to  penetrate  to  and  arouse 
the  attention  of  tlie  dignified  Academicians  themselves,  who,  once  re- 
ceived within  the  fold  of  the  Academy,  are  liable  to  forget  the  efforts 
by  wliich  they  escaped  from  the  struggles  of  the  art  career  into  that 
haven  prepared  for  the  artist  whom  the  people  delight  to  honor,  and 


20 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


look  down  witli  dignified  silence  upon  the  crowd  of  fellow  - artists  still 
outside  and  struggling  for  admission,  too  often  rejecting  good  paintings 
in  order  to  admit  jDOor  ones  by  Academicians,  or  discriminating  in  favor 
of  figure  pieces  as  against  landscapes  and  marines.  At  least  such  is  the 
general  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  there  seems  too  much  ground  for  it 
— enough,  at  least,  to  cause  the  matter  to  be  brought  before  Parliament, 
where  it  has  been  liberally  aired,  and  given  rise  to  a cloud  of  pamphlets. 
To  its  surprise.  Parliament  discovered  that  the  government  has  no  au- 
thority to  interfere  with  the  Academy  in  the  control  of  its  affairs,  al- 
though it  is  called  the  Royal  Academy.  George  III.  gave  them  land  on 
which  to  build,  and  the  Queen  has  the  right  to  gain  admission  for  a re- 
jected painting,  or  one  that  has  been  sent  too  late  for  inspection  by  the 
committee.  There,  it  seems,  begins  and  ends  all  the  royal  family  or  Par- 
liament has  to  say  on  the  subject.  But  the  voice  of  the  public  has  been 
too  much  for  the  serene  dignity  of  the  august  Forty,  and  they  have  at  last 
so  far  yielded  as  to  retire  several  who  had  held  the  honor  long  enough, 
electing  younger  men  in  their  place,  and,  as  Ijefore  observed,  adding  to 
the  permanent  list  of  Associates,  which  is  a mere  sop  to  Cerberus. 

Another  result  has  been  the  establishment  of  a rival  institution  called 
the  Grosvenor  Gallery,  of  which  a fuller  account  is  given  in  connection 
with  the  Possetti  School.  But  the  Academy  has  not  only  been  attacked 
from  without ; it  has  also  been  rent  by  internecine  feuds,  of  which  less 
is  heard  abroad.  The  Scotch  and  the  English,  the  Gael  and  the  Saxon, 
Sawnie  and  John  Bull,  have  alternately  fought  for  the  supremacy  within 
the  sacred  walls  of  Art,  and  as  one  or  tlie  other  has  held  sway,  the  works 
of  Briton  or  Scot  have  been  liable  to  acceptance  or  rejection,  or  have 
been  assigned  accordingly  either  a favorable  position  on  the  line  or  up 
in  a corner  under  the  ceiling  — nearer  to  heaven,  but  farther  removed 
from  the  beneficent  gaze  of  those  who  hold  in  the  balance  the  artist’s 
fate  by  buying  his  works.  One  year  every  Scotch  Academician  had  all 
his  exhibited  works  hung  on  the  line ! But  after  a long  supremacy,  the 
English  element  is  again  predominating,  as  indicated  by  the  circumstance 
that  a very  well-known  Scotch  artist  has  been  so  constantly  rejected  of 
late  on  that  very  account,  as  to  make  it  a threadbare  joke  that  any  one 
who  had  his  natne  as  candidate  on  the  same  ticket  with  him  was  sure  of 
election,  the  way  being  to  put  two  names  on  one  ticket,  the  one  receiving 
the  most  votes  going  in. 


ROYAL  ACADEMY. 


21 


The  Academy  has  within  a few  years  moved  its  quarters  to  Burling- 
ton House,  a building  built  expressly  for  the  purpose,  on  Piccadilly.  It  is 
in  the  form  of  a hollow  square,  and  contains  twelve  galleries,  besides  the 
vestibules.  Every  department  of  art  is  theoretically  included  in  its  scope 
and  the  character  of  the  works  exhibited.  Each  B.A.  has  a right  to  ex- 
hibit eight  works  in  the  annual  exhibitions,  which  begin  May  1st,  and 
remain  open  for  three  months.  Three  catalogues  are  issued,  one  on  large 
paper  and  one  of  smaller  size,  besides  one  edited  by  Mr.  Henry  Black- 
burn, embracing  notes  on  the  most  noteworthy  works,  and  small  pen-and- 


ESTHEK'S  banquet. EDWARD  ARMITAGE. 

ink  sketches  giving  a general  idea  of  the  subject.  The  number  of  visitors 
is  enormous ; and  as  the  admission  fee  is  a shilling,  and  many  thousand 
catalogues  are  sold  in  addition,  the  revenue  derived  from  the  exhibitions 
is  very  large,  aside  from  the  value  of  the  paintings  sold.  In  years  of 
commercial  prosperity  many  artists  realize  much  of  their  income  from 
the  sales  at  the  exhibitions,  not  only  at  the  Boyal  Academy,  but  in  the 
numerous  other  exhibitions.  This  must  be  a convenience  to  both  artist 
and  purchaser,  because  there  are  few  studio  buildings  in  London,  and  the 
artists,  therefore,  generally  have  their  studios  connected  with  their  houses, 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


and  these  are  much  scattered,  although  chiefly,  however,  in  South  Ken- 
sington, St.  John’s  Wood,  and  Hampstead. 

Connected  with  the  Koyal  Academy  is  a very  able  art  training  school, 
ranking  first  in  the  kingdom.  Armitage  is  the  professor  of  painting, 
Weekes  of  sculpture,  Barry  and  Spiers  of  architecture,  Calder  Marshall  of 
anatomy,  Barff  of  chemistry,  and  Bowler  of  perspective.  Ko  medals  or 
prizes  are  given  to  those  exhibiting  in  the  annual  exhibitions,  but  a gold 
medal  is  awarded  to  the  best  work  produced  by  the  pupils  each  year  in  the 
various  branches  of  art.  Frank  Dicksee,  the  medallist  for  1875,  is  a young- 
artist  of  promise. 

The  South  Kensington  Museum  was  founded  in  1852.  Its  scope  can 
best  be  described  in  the  language  of  the  directors : “ The  Kational  Art 
Training  School  at  South  Kensington  is  established  for  the  purpose  of 
training  art  masters  and  mistresses  for  the  United  Kingdom,  and  for  the 
instruction  of  students  in  drawing,  designing,  and  modelling,  to  be  applied 
to  the  requirements  of  trade  and  manufactures.”  It  will  be  impossible 
wdthin  so  brief  a sj^ace  to  give  more  than  a mere  outline  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive and  remarkable  institution  of  the  sort  in  Christendom.  A sum  of 
money  is  voted  annually  by  Parliament  for  the  promotion  of  instruction 
in  art,  and  it  is  distributed  in  the  teaching  of  elementary  drawing  in  day 
schools,  and  in  night  schools  for  artisans,  and  the  furtherance  of  instruc- 
tion in  the  higher  branches  of  art,  and.  Anally,  in  the  training  of  art  teach- 
ers. At  South  Kensington  we  therefore  find  day  and  night  schools,  with 
two  complete  suites  of  art  rooms,  fully  equipped  with  all  requisite  models 
and  apparatus  for  instruction  in  every  branch  and  stage  of  the  fine  or  the 
industrial  arts — one  for  each  sex.  Instead  of  having  the  sexes  study  to- 
gether, as  some  fanatics  among  us  think  feasible  and  proper,  the  directors 
at  South  Kensington  consider  that  long  experience  has  proved  the  im]3or- 
tance  of  keeping  them  apart,  at  least  in  the  study  of  art ; but  no  distinc- 
tion is  made  in  the  advantages  afforded  to  each.  The  competitive  exam- 
inations are  of  the  most  thorough  and  searching  character,  in  order  that 
the  instruction  may  not  only  be  in  the  practice  of  art,  but  also  in  the 
knowledge  of  its  scientiflc  principles,  the  better  to  develop  the  power  of 
conveying  intelligent  instruction,  and  apprehending  the  actual  relations  of 
art  to  trade  and  manufactures.  E.  J.  Poynter  is  the  art  director  and  prin- 
cipal, assisted  by  a numerous  corps  of  coadjutors.  Two  annual  sessions, 
of  five  months  each,  commence  March  1st  and  October  1st.  The  candidates 


80UTH  KENSINGTON  MUSEUM. 


23 


for  admission  undergo  a rigid  examination,  and  must  submit  works  in 
drawing,  painting,  or  composition,  to  indicate  tlie  relative  ability  and 
promise  of  the  applicant.  Allowances  for  maintenance  are  made  to  the 
successful  applicants  on  a sliding  scale,  increasing  from  £30  per  annum 
up  to  £78 ; after  the  latter  has  been  held  for  a term  of  not  more  than 
two  years,  the  student  is  considered  qualified  to  teach  in  any  of  the  art 
training  schools  of  the  kingdom.  It  may  be  added  that  the  examinations 
are  divided  into  six  groups  or  departments  of  subjects,  that  women  are 
exempt  from  examination  in  architectural  drawing,  and  that  candidates 
must  not  be  over  nineteen  years  old  when  applying  for  admission. 

In  addition  to  the  normal  art  training  schools  are  classes  for  each  sex, 
to  which  any  one  is  admitted  on  the  payment  of  a certain  fee,  according 
to  the  amount  of  instruction  received,  although  none  can  be  entered 
without  passing  an  examination  in  free-hand  drawing  for  the  second 
grade,  or  for  a less  time  than  live  months.  The  number  of  such  students 
now  at  South  Kensington  is  829,  of  whom  461  are  females.  The  fees  al- 
ready reach  an  average  of  over  £3000  per  session. 

Connected  with  the  art  training  schools  at  South  Kensington  is  a very 
copious — in  fact,  exhaustive — art  library  intended  for  the  students ; also 
superb  collections  of  pottery,  carved  work,  j)aintings,  models  of  naval  and 
civic  architecture,  scientific  collections,  and  the  like,  covering  an  enor- 
mous extent  in  distinct  buildings  or  galleries,  and  open  to  the  inspection 
of  the  general  public.  A collection  of  oil  and  water-color  paintings  is  also 
formed,  which,  as  well  as  all  books  in  the  art  library  worth  over  twelve 
shillings,  are  loaned  to  other  schools  of  art  in  the  kingdom.  Exclusive  of 
the  museum  at  Bethnal  Green,  which  is  in  reality  a branch  of  the  South 
Kensington  Museum,  these  art  schools,  including  the  night  classes,  num- 
ber 675,  with  45,000  pupils. 

Such  are  some  of  the  methods  by  which  the  grow  th  of  art  is  fostered 
in  Great  Britain.  At  no  time  in  past  history  lias  the  art  student  studied 
art  under  circumstances  more  favorable.  What  are  the  results^  Do  w^e 
find  a greater,  nobler  art  springing  up,  ideas  more  grandiose,  wmrks  of 
more  originality  and  permanent  value,  than  those  of  the  masters  of  olden 
time?  or  is  the  result,  rather,  as  it  has  been  Avith  letters,  Avith  the  progress 
of  civilization — no  more  Homers  or  Shakspeares,  but  a Avider  culture  on 
the  part  of  the  masses,  a more  general  capacity  to  appreciate  good  litera- 
ture, the  Avhole  literary  Avorld  raised  to  a common  table-land,  but  no  shin- 


24 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


ing  peaks  towering  magnificently  but  alone  in  the  empyrean  above  ? It 
seems  as  if  the  latter  were  also  somewhat  the  case  with  English  art,  at 
least  for  the  present ; and  yet  many  would  differ  with  us.  And  it  may  be 
that  it  is  passing  through  a transitional  state  from  one  order  of  methods 
and  ideas  into  another.  Certainly  the  religious  and  social  questions  agi- 
tating society  and  finding  vent  through  the  press  are  also  very  noticeable 
in  affecting  the  English  art  of  the  day ; and  this  is  more  observable  in 
English  art  than  French  art,  because  it  includes  in  its  theory  and  practice 
not  the  delineation  of  the  beautiful  alone,  but  also  the  narrative  and  moral 
elements,  so  that  the  artist  becomes  also  a story-teller  or  a moralist.  This 
makes  it  much  more  difficult  to  criticise  English  art,  for  it  aims  at  a higher 
mark  than  Latin  contemporary  art,  and  no  artist  can  be  properly  judged 
unless  we  look  not  only  at  what  he  has  done,  but  also  at  what  he  has  at- 
tempted to  reach.  We  are  balfied,  also,  because  we  find  oil  and  water  col- 
ors on  nearly  an  equal  footing,  and  many  j^rominent  artists  working  alter- 
nately in  either.  Thei’e  have  also  always  been,  and  continue  to  be,  Eng- 
lish artists  of  originality,  individuality,  and  note  whom  it  is  impossible  to 
classify,  and  who  neither  belong  to  any  school  nor  create  any  considerable 
following — such  as  Turner  and  Blake  formerly,  and  others  in  our  day 
whom  we  could  mention — and  yet  they  are  included  generically  with  the 
English  School.  The  only  thing  they  all  have  more  or  less  in  common 
seems  to  be  the  quality  before  mentioned  of  making  art  a medium  for 
the  expression  of  narrative  or  moral  ideas,  of  which  Hogarth  was  a nota- 
ble example.  And  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  Etty  was  a painter  who  was 
essentially  Latin  in  his  pi-actice,  and  the  number  like  him  seems  just  now 
to  be  gaining,  through  the  influence,  in  part  at  least,  of  Alma  Tadema, 
who  resides  in  London,  and  the  growing  attention  given  to  the  works  of 
the  Continental  schools.  The  study  of  industrial  art  and  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  decorative  forms  of  antiquity  aid  this  influence,  and  lead  to 
such  poems  as  Morris’s  “ Earthly  Paradise,”  and  such  paintings  as  the 
works  of  Leighton  or  Poynter  in  the  Academy  for  1876.  The  religious 
agitation  now  rife  in  England  as  well  as  on  the  Continent,  indicated  in 
the  former  by  an  attempt  to  restore  the  papacy  in  England,  and  the  new 
fervor  of  ritualism,  with  its  pseudo-medigeval  rites  and  sentiments,  has  led 
to  the  restoration  of  Gothic  architecture  and  the  formation  of  the  so- 
called  Pomantic  School,  dealing  with  archaic  forms  and  legends  and  alle- 
gorical subjects,  both  classical  and  pietistic.  The  tendencies  of  this  school 


KOSSETTI  SCHOOL. 


25 


are  well  illustrated  by  the  poems  and  paintings  of  Dante  Gabriel  Eossetti 
and  E.  Burne  Jones.  Their  works  rarely  appear  on  public  exhibition, 
but  on  Sunday  afternoons  Mr.  Jones  kindly  allows  amateurs  to  visit  his 


^NONE — A SKETCH. E.  BURNE  JONES. 


studio  at  his  residence  in  Fulham.  Ilis  paintings,  from  dryness  of  treat- 
ment, appear  to  be  in  distemper  on  panel,  and  are  often  of  a purely  deco- 
rative character,  and  to  the  last  degree  ideal  in  treatment  and  subject. 
The  drawing  of  the  human  form  is  masterly,  and  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  the  harmonies  of  color  are  often  very  subtle  and  beautiful,  and  win 
one  constantly  to  return  and  gaze  long,  until  the  inliuence  of  the  scene 
steals  into  the  soul,  and  wins  the  half  - reluctant  confession  that  these 
paintings  are  often  inspired  by  unmistakable  power,  and  occupy  a high 


26 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


if  anomalous  position  in  contemporary  art,  altliougli  it  would  be  as  unfort- 
unate for  all  art  to  resemble  the  Homantic  School  as  for  all  literature  to 
imitate  Christabel,”  or  The  Fall  of  the  House  of  Usher,”  or  Sweden- 
borg’s “Conjugial  Love.”  Fra  Angelico,  William  Blake,  Orcagna,  the 
stained  windows  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  illuminated  missals  of  St.  Louis, 
are  alternately  suggested  as  one  contemplates  these  paintings ; for,  while 
the  drawing  is  good  and  the  color  often  fervid,  and  the  ideas  highly  sub- 
jective and  original,  the  forms  and  composition  are  conventional  and 
monotonous,  the  repetition  constant,  the  scene  entirely  out  of  the  region 
of  the  real  or  the  possible,  and  the  positions  and  expressions  mere  affecta- 
tions, when  we  consider  that  they  were  done  at  the  present  day.  They 
are  not  so  much  paintings  as  poems,  suggested  by  an  intense  love  and 
study  of  the  past,  and  especially  black-letter  legendary  lore,  holding  the 
same  relation  to  art  that  Bossetti’s  religions  poems  hold  to  literature,  yet 
not  rarely  with  suggestions  of  sensnonsness  similar  to  the  subtle  volnp- 
tnousness  of  his  sonnets,  and  possessed,  probably,  of  as  much  influence 
in  affecting  society  and  art  as  his  poetry  enjoys  compared  with  that  of 
Byron.  The  one  represents  the  ideas  of  a highly  cultivated,  fastidious, 
self-appreciative,  but  not  very  23rofound  sesthetic  coterie ; the  other,  the 
vast,  seething,  Titanic,  overwhelming  passions  and  aspirations  and  yearn- 
ings of  races  and  generations  struggling  with  destiny,  and  surging  with 
mighty  convulsions  from  era  to  era. 

But  whether  this  movement  of  the  Bomantic  or  Mystic  School  be  the 
result  of  a spontaneous  inspiration  destined  to  create  a general  reaction 
towards  the  ideal,  or  only  a temporary  intellectual  effort  emanating  from 
a few  eccentric  but  cultured  minds  imbued  with  a love  for  the  forms  of 
early  Italian  art,  and  meeting  with  no  permanent  popular  response — a 
cpiestion  which  cannot  be  decided  cpiite  yet — it  is  at  least  certain  that  it 
is  to-day  a power  in  English  art,  commanding  a position  which  rightly 
claims  the  serious  attention  of  those  who  desire  impartially  to  study  the 
art  tendencies  of  the  age.  The  most  recent  manifestation  of  its  influ- 
ence is  in  the  opening  this  year  of  the  Grosvenor  Gallery,  in  Hew  Bond 
Street,  erected  by  Sir  Coutts  Lindsay  at  a cost  of  £100,000.  Two  objects 
have  been  kept  distinctly  in  view  in  its  construction,  to  suggest  new  ar- 
rangements in  the  exhibition  of  paintings,  and  to  offer  a means  for  the 
public  display  of  the  works  of  the  Bomantic  School.  The  fagade  was 
brought  from  Yenice,  and  was  the  front  of  a palace  — the  work  of  the 


GROSVENOR  GALLERY. 


27 


celebrated  Palladio ; and  the  vestibules  are  supported  by  pillars  of  rich 
Italian  marble.  To  the  left  are  halls  for  sculpture  and  water-colors,  and 
on  the  right  is  the  east  gallery,  leading  into  the  principal  saloon.  The 
light  comes  from  above.  The  ceilings  are  bine,  exquisitely  decorated  with 
arabesques  in  gold.  The  walls  are  hung  with  crimson  damask,  and 
divided  into  panels  or  spaces  by  pillars  white  and  gilded,  originally  in 
the  corridor  of  the  old  Opera  Comique  at  Paris.  The  dado  is  hung  with 
green  velvet.  Sumptuous  couches  and  fauteuils  complete  the  decorations 
of  the  most  elegant  art  gallery  yet  erected  in  Great  Britain.  It  may  be 
questioned,  however,  whether  there  is  not  a suspicion  of  garishness  ap- 
parent which  requires  the  tempering  touch  of  Time.  But  the  most  val- 
uable improvement  has  been  in  the  allowance  of  a given  space  to  each 
artist  represented  there,  and  the  hanging  of  all  his  works  together,  so  that 
they  do  not  interfere  with,  nor  are  injured  by,  the  juxtaposition  of  works 
in  altogether  a different  style ; while  to  the  beholder  the  arrangement  of 
paintings  surrounded  by  drapery,  and  not  so  crowded  as  to  jostle  against 
each  other,  necessarily  reduces  the  weariness  attendant  on  frequenting 
galleries  of  art.  This  result  has  been  possible  because  Sir  Coutts  Lindsay, 
who  is  himself  a clever  artist,  is  the  sole  owner  and  arbiter,  and  receives 
only  the  works  of  such  artists  as  he  invites  to  exhibit  there,  and  propor- 
tions the  number  of  invitations  to  the  space  at  his  command.  It  is  claimed 
that  the  Grosvenor  Gallery  is  not  a rival  to  the  Poyal  Academy,  and  in 
proof  of  the  statement  a number  of  the  Academicians,  including  Sir  Fran- 
cis Grant,  the  president,  were  invited  to  exhibit  at  the  opening  of  the 
new  gallery,  and  accordingly  sent  to  it  some  of  their  most  important 
works.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  paintings  of  E.  Burne  Jones,  Walter 
Crane,  and  other  leaders  of  the  Romantic  School  — rarely,  if  ever,  exhib- 
ited elsewhere  — form  a majority  of  the  canvases  hung  in  the  Grosvenor 
Gallery;  and  nothing  is  seen  there  more  weirdly  beautiful  than  the 
“ Yenus  Mirror”  by  E.  Burne  Jones.  But  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  new  gallery,  while  giving  additional  prominence  to 
the  mystics,  will  also  tend  towards  increasing  the  intolerance,  of  which 
there  is  already  so  much  at  every  art  centre  that  one  is  almost  inclined 
to  conclude  there  is  nothing  so  difficult  as  to  be  tolerant,  and  this  unrea- 
soning conflict  between  the  idealists  and  the  realists  in  art  seems  oven 
more  endless  than  the  warfare  between  science  and  religion.  And  yet 
in  each  case  the  opposing  parties  are  working  for  the  same  end,  if  but 


28 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


they  had  the  intellectual  grasp  to  discern,  or  the  fairness  to  acknowledge, 
this  truth.  They  simply  represent  different  organizations  bearing  the 
same  banner.  The  highest  results  can  only  be  achieved  in  ethics  when 
science  and  religion  are  married— a union  destined  nltimately  to  occur ; 
the  highest  art  can  only  be  attained  when  the  two  great  rival  schools  of 
art  shall  learn  that  there  is  really  no  cause  for  antagonism  between  them, 
and  shall  go  hand-in-hand  down  the  ages,  harmoniously  interpreting  the 
good,  the  true,  and  the  beautiful  in  the  universe  of  God. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the  Koman- 
tic  School,  the  tendencies  of  the  age  are  frequently  exhibited  also  in  other 


HOLMAN  HUNT. 


English  paintings,  belonging  to  what  many  seem  to  consider  as  the  only 
legitimate  art.  Biblical  or  religious  subjects  are  constantly  produced  by 
such  men  as  Armitage,  an  artist  rather  of  the  past,  good  in  composition 
and  drawdng,  but  poor  in  color,  although  j>rofessor  of  painting  at  the 
Academy ; also  Goodall,  Thorburn,  Boberts,  and  E.  Long,  one  of  the  new 
Academicians,  an  artist  whose  paintings  entitled  The  Pool  of  Bethesda  ” 
and  ‘^The  Wife-Market  of  Babylon”  have  deserved  the  praise  they  have 
won  for  the  artistic  feeling  they  show  and  the  careful  study  of  Oriental  life. 
Holman  Hunt,  who  is  one  of  the  original  founders  of  the  pre-Baphaelite 
School,  and  is  widely  known  for  his  masterly  paintings  entitled  “ The 


SUCCESSFUL  TREATMENT  OF  SOCIAL  PROBLEMS. 


29 


Liglit  of  the  World”  and  “Christ  in  the  Temple,”  hardly  seems  to  sus- 
tain the  promise  of  his  earlier  years  in  his  recent  ambitious  work,  called 
the  “ Shadow  of  the  Cross,”  which  cost  him  several  years  of  conscientious 
labor  in  Palestine,  and  was  sold  for  £10,000.  The  difficulty  seems  to  be 
in  a lack  of  inspiration,  and  in  devoting  so  much  attention  to  the  details 


THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  WORLD. HUxNT. 


of  things  that  the  spirit  of  the  scene  eludes  his  grasp.  One  is  thus  more 
impressed  by  the  skill  of  the  teclmlque  than  by  the  central  idea  which 
should  dominate  the  mechanical  element  in  a great  work  of  art.  There 
are  also  a large  number  of  artists  in  England  who  treat  the  social  problems 
of  the  day  with  excellent  success,  both  as  artists  and  moralists.  Among 
the  most  meritorious  undoubtedly  stands  II.  W.  Macbeth,  whose  painting, 


30 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


‘‘A  Lincolnshire  Gang,”  illustrating  the  sort  of  slavery  still  endured  by 
some  of  the  peasantry  in  England,  is  powerfully  rendered  in  color,  draw- 
ing, and  composition.  In  painting  it  attempts  what  Dickeiis  attempted 
in  letters,  and  deserves  similar  success  in  accomplishing  its  purpose.  G. 
II.  Boughton,  whose  ‘‘  Bearers  of  the  Burden  ” attracted  so  much  atten- 
tion last  year,  often  works  in  this  direction.  His  rapid  success  since  his 
return  to  his  native  land  has  been  owing  undoubtedly  in  j^art  to  the  fact 
that  not  only  are  his  subjects  of  a popular  character,  but  the  treatment 
also  suggests  the  simplicity,  and  consecpiently  the  consummate  art,  of  the 
French  School,  while  his  color  is  generally  quiet,  and,  if  it  does  not  im- 


THOMAS  FAED. 


press  at  first,  has  the  rare  quality  of  growing  in  favor.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, as  in  a recently  painted  scene  from  Knickerbocker^  he  deals  with 
hues  as  brilliant  as  any.  In  portraiture,  he  also  wields  a vigorous  and 
effective  brush,  as  in  his  likeness  of  Master  Graham  Pettie.  In  genre^ 
the  English  artists  generally  prefer  domestic  scenes  which  appeal  directly 
to  the  heart  of  the  people,  and  are  often  so  judiciously  chosen  as  to  win 
for  the  artist  a repute  out  of  ]3roportion,  perhaps,  with  his  actual  merits 
as  an  artist.  The  home,  whether  in  high  or  low  life,  in  the  hall  or  in  the 
cottage,  and  especially  the  simple  beauty  and  pathos  of  rustic  life  and  the 
quiet  surroundings  in  which  its  humble  drama  is  acted,  afford  an  endless 


ENGLISH  GENRE  PAINTING. 


31 


field  to  the  artists  of  Old  England.  With  some  notable  exceptions,  the  best 
modern  art  of  that  country  is  in  the  treatment  of  this  class  of  subjects. 
To  mention  all  the  artists  who  have  achieved  excellence  in  contemporary 
English  genre  is  far  beyond  our  scope,  and  we  must  reluctantly  confine 
ourselves  to  the  mention  of  a few  noteworthy  names.  This  school  has 
been  very  largely  infiuenced  by  George  Mason,  who  died  in  1872,  and 
Erederick  Walker,  whose  masterful  spirit,  one  of  the  most  perceptive  and 
original  of  our  times,  left  us  scarce  two  years  ago  for  a more  exalted 
contemplation  of  the  problems  of  existence  in  anotlier  world.  Can  any 
one  doubt  that  for  a mind  like  his  the  exchange  of  worlds  must  be  the 
enlargement  of  the  sphere  of  sympathy  with  the  good  and  the  beautiful 


GEORGE  H.  BOUGHTON. 


in  the  heart  of  nature  and  humanity  which  he  so  effectively  interpreted 
here  with  the  imperfect  materials  at  his  command?  Both  of  these  artists 
were  in  the  truest  sense  idyllic  poets,  but  the  former  in  his  simple  style 
was  more  an  artist  for  artists,  while  the  latter  appealed  also  to  the  ap- 
preciation of  the  great  art  public.  Both,  by  their  subjects  and  methods, 
have  exerted  a beneficent  influence  on  contemporary  English  art.  Walker 
was  first  a wood  draughtsman,  and  in  that  direction  competed  successful- 
ly with  Millais  and  Tenniel ; subsecpiently  he  took  up  water -colors,  but 
he  died  of  consumption  at  the  early  age  of  thirty -five.  One  of  his  most 
notable  works  is  the  ‘‘  Harbor  of  Eefuge,”  representing  the  inmates  of  a 
poor-house.  The  brothers  John  and  Thomas  Eaed,  as  colorists  in  oil, 


32 


CONTEMPOEARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


won  a deserved  reputation  years  ago  in  genre.  The  latter  is  well  known 
in  every  American  household  by  his  beautiful  representation  of  Longfel- 
low’s Evangeline,”  and  has  also  moved  the  public  heart  by  such  pictures 


THE  MITHERLESS  BAIRN. THOMAS  FAED. 


as  his  “ Sunday  in  the  Backwoods  ” and  “ The  Mitherless  Bairn.”  His 
color  and  handling  are  less  dry  and  crude  than  those  of  too  many  English 
artists  of  this  school. 

Frank  Holl,  in  the  painting  entitled  ^Hler  First-born,”  depicting  a 
rustic  funeral,  has  very  touchingly  represented  one  of  the  saddest  hours  of 
life  below,  and  suggests  promise  of  more  important  wmrk  with  a larger  ex- 
perience ; wliile  S.  Luke  Fildes,  one  of  the  more  recent  aspirants  to  artistic 
honors  in  England,  already  indicates  the  power  of  a master  in  dealing  with 
similar  social  phases.  Sometimes,  as  in  his  Simpletons,”  who  are  two 
lovers  idling  away  a delicious  summer  morning  in  a boat  on  a lazy  stream, 
he  suggests  a comical  or  enjoyable  episode ; but  his  strength  seems  to  lie 
cliiedy  in  such  works  as  his  ‘‘Applicants  for  Admission  to  a Casual  Ward,” 
or  paupers  seeking  admittance  to  a poor-house  in  a snow-storm.  “ The 
Widower”  is  another  canvas  by  this  artist,  which  gives  indication  of  large 
reserve  power.  We  see  before  us  the  dusky  interior  of  a peasant’s  cottage. 
The  widowed  laborer,  work-stained  and  heart-weary,  holds  on  his  knee  a 
sick  infant,  thus  early  deprived  of  its  mother.  Tlie  eldest  daughter  stands 
at  his  side ; the  other  children  are  playing  on  the  floor,  inditferent  to  the 
irreparable  loss  they  have  sustained ; and  through  a chink  in  the  door  steals 


HERKOMER— LESLIE. 


33 


a ray  of  simliglit,  as  if  to  reveal  the  utter  wretchedness  within  that  humble 
dwelling.  Here  we  find  a mind  moved  by  a large  range  of  sympathies, 
and  a style  indicating  vigorous  realism,  deep  pathos,  and  poetic  sentiment. 
There  is,  perhaps,  not  enough  left  to  the  imagination  in  his  manner,  the 
multiplicity  of  details  detracting  from  the  force  of  the  central  idea ; but 
with  a young  artist  this  is  a more  pardonable  fault  than  the  dryness  and 
meagreness  which  suggest  poverty  of  ideas. 

Hubert  Herkomer,  by  his  ‘‘Last  Muster,”  two  years  ago,  attracted 
marked  attention,  and  in  the  painting  entitled  “At  Death’s  Door,”  exhib- 
ited at  the  Academy  in  1876,  well  sustained  the  reputation  so  early  won, 
this  time  carrying  the  scene  from  England  to  the  Tyrol,  where  a group  of 
kneeling  peasants  are  represented  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  priest  to  ad- 
minister the  last  rites  to  one  who  is  dying  in  the  adjoining  chalet ; in  the 
distance  the  rugged  purple  ranges  of  that  mountain  land  grandly  loom 
and  fade  away.  Each  face  has  a distinct  individuality  of  its  own,  and  the 
whole  scene  is  characterized  by  dramatic  power. 

George  Leslie  is  a son  of  the  late  Charles  Leslie,  the  celebrated  Amer- 
ican painter,  who  settled  and  won  his  laurels  in  London,  and  was  the 
friend  and  contemporary  of  Washington  Irving.  He  aims  at  combining 
landscape  with  genre^  and  selects  his  subjects  rather  more  from  the  mid- 
dle and  upper  classes  than  Fildes  or  Llerkomer.  His  methods  of  handling 
and  color  are  exceedingly  refined  and  delicate,  without  degenerating  into 
mere  paintiness  or  prettiness,  and  there  is  something  very  winning  in  the 
gracefulness  of  his  figures.  Somewhat  similar  observations  would  also 
apply  to  some  of  the  canvases  of  A.  Elmore.  But  there  is  no  artist 
more  thoroughly  national  now  painting  in  England  than  AY.  P.  Frith,  R. A. 
AYho  has  not  seen  engravings  of  his  “ Railway  Station”  and  “Derby  Day,” 
unsurpassed  in  modern  art  for  their  popularity?  The  former  sold  for 
£16,000,  including  the  list  of  subscribers  to  the  engraving  from  it.  Frith 
groups  with  the  facility  of  Menzel  of  Berlin,  combining  much  natural 
bustle  with  large  variety  of  types  of  character ; but  he  cannot  claim  a high 
raidc  as  a colorist,  and  in  all  that  constitutes  a really  great  work  of  art 
must  yield  the  palm  to  his  illustrious  j)redecessor,  Sir  David  Wilkie,  who 
in  his  special  sphere  has  no  superior,  and  scarcely  an  ecpial,  in  contempo- 
rary English  art. 

AY.  Q.  Orchardson,  justly  considered  one  of  the  foremost  of  the  con- 
temporary school  in  technical  excellence,  may  be  classed  with  a group  of 


34: 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


artists  who  combine  with  genre  a love  of  old-time  bricabrac,  and  seek  to 
reproduce  the  life  of  our  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  in  the  interesting 
and  sometimes  pathetic  scenes  they  represent.  Marcus  Stone,  who  won  a 
medal  at  Yienna  for  his  painting  of  ‘‘  Edward  II.  and  Gaveston,”  and  as 
A.E.A.  was  recently  admitted  to  the  vestibule  which  leads  to  the  inner 


“WIIAT  d’ye  lack,  madam?” PETTIE. 


Holy  of  Holies  of  the  Academy,  is  also  earning  a prominent  position  by 
such  semi-historical  works  as  his  “Appeal  for  Mercy,”  a dramatic  composi- 
tion borrowed  from  scenes  only  too  common  in  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

Yah  C.  Princep  and  I.  Pettie  also  treat  this  class  of  subjects  effec- 
tively sometimes ; the  latter,  however,  is  chiefly  remarkable  as  being  one 
of  the  strongest  portrait-painters  in  England.  H.  S.  Marks  is  an  artist  of 


GILBERT— BEAVIS. 


35 


much  versatility^,  both  in  oil  and  water  colors  and  decorative  art,  dealing 
largely,  however,  with  subjects  of  past  rather  than  present  interest,  as  in 
his  interesting  and  faithfully  rendered  painting  of  an  “Apothecary”  of 
olden  time  in  his  laboratory,  surrounded  by  the  curious  details  which  en- 
tered into  the  concoction  of  medicines  in  those  days,  all  conscientiously 
expressed,  while  the  face  and  figure  of  the  leathern-visaged  alchemist  are 
effectively  drawn  and  painted.  There  is,  perhaps,  a little  too  much  elabo- 
ration in  the  style,  while  granting  high  artistic  qualities  to  the  work  as  a 
whole.  A favorable  example  of  this  artist’s  method  in  handling  certain 
subjects  is  seen  in  the  engraving  of  his  “Princess  and  Pelicans,”  which 
was  painted  in  water-colors.  There  are,  in  fact,  many  paintings  now  done 
in  England  showing  that  the  artists  have  ransacked  the  bazaars  of  Constan- 
tinople and  the  old-curiosity  shops  of  Wardour  Street  for  antique  armor, 
and  that  the  anachronisms  of  costume  in  the  works  of  Kembrandt  or  Ver- 
onese are  repeated  less  now,  although  I was  surprised  to  see  a Crusader, 
in  a recent  vivid  battle  scene  by  Sir  John  Gilbert,  helmeted  in  a casque 
of  the  time  of  Cromwell,  instead  of  a morion  of  the  twelfth  century.  Sir 
John,  wdio  has  been  the  corypheus  of  this  school,  although  more  especially 
in  water-colors,  is  now  past  his  prime.  Commencing  with  wood-drawing, 
he  eventually  took  up  the  pursuit  of  oil  and  water  colors,  being  by  far  the 
most  successful  in  the  latter.  He  is  the  fifth  president  of  the  old  water- 
color  society.  In  style  picturesque  and  vigorous — like  a northern  blast, 
honest  and  keen,  bluff  and  sturdy  as  a viking — he  is  yet  entirely  want- 
ing in  the  subtle  suggestiveness  of  the  highest  art. 

A.  C.  Gow  and  Pichard  Beavis  have  developed  a versatile  ability  in 
both  oil  and  water  colors  jn  the  representation  of  semi-historical  scenes  re- 
quiring dramatic  force.  Beavis,  a native  of  Devonshire,  only  gradually 
drifted  into  the  forms  of  art  expression  he  now  employs.  Por  many  years 
he  was  engaged  by  the  Messrs.  Trollope,  the  well-known  art  decorators, 
and  by  his  aid  they  were  able  successfully  to  compete  in  the  London  and 
Paris  exhibitions  of  1852  and  18(55.  Having  been  able  by  this  means  to 
steal  a march  on  time,  Beavis  took  up  the  profession  of  a painter,  and  ob- 
taiTied  a respectable  position  by  such  Avorks  as  “A  IMilitary  Train  crossing 
the  Sands  at  Elizabetli  Castle,  »fersey.”  In  recent  years  he  has  travelled 
in  the  East,  and  has  brought  home  some  very  effective  studies  of  life 
among  the  Bedaween.  In  acpiarelle  he  de})ends,  as  it  seems  to  us,  too 
much  on  the  use  of  body  color,  and  in  his  works  as  a whole  leaves  the 


36 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


impression  of  being  a pleasing  and  clever  artist  of  talent  rather  than  gen- 
ius. A rival  of  Beavis  in  the  vigorous  delineation  of  Oriental  groups  is 
the  water-colorist  Carl  Haag,  who,  although  of  Oerman  origin,  has  made 
London  his  home  since  1852,  and  resides  amidst  the  charming  haunts  of 
Hampstead.  J.  F.  Lewis,  who  died  in  1876,  at  a good  old  age,  had  a brill- 
iant and  highly  conscientious  style  of  painting  the  vivid  costumes  and  ar- 
chitecture of  Spain  and  the  gorgeous  East ; but  it  too  much  resembled 
miniature  painting,  and  palled  by  the  very  gorgeousness  of  color  and  ex- 
cess of  detail,  thus  lacking  breadth  and  atmospheric  grays. 


H.  S.  MARKS, FROM  A PORTRAIT  BY  OULESS. 


Of  canvases  representing  great  historic  events,  especially  battle-fields 
where  the  best  blood  of  England  has  been  shed  to  emblazon  the  pages  of 
her  chronicles,  there  is,  of  course,  an  abundance ; but  such  subjects,  to  be 
rightly  and  artistically  treated,  and  elevated  to  a point  where  we  feel  that 
a great  inspiration  has  borne  the  artist  above  the  prose  and  staginess  so  ' 
difficult  to  forget  amidst  a mass  of  technical  details,  must  be  handled  only 
by  those  who  bring  to  the  task  a special  vocation  for  it,  including  there- 
with a powerful  imagination.  Acres  on  acres  of  such  paintings  are  con- 


BATTLE  PAINTING. 


37 


stantly  executed  both  in  England  and  on  the  Continent  to  gratify  national 
patriotism,  and  as  a ride  no  works  are  so  unsatisfactory  to  the  art  critic. 
Maclise,  who  died  in  1870,  was  a jDoor  colorist,  but  he  was  a tine  draughts- 
man and  a man  of  genius,  and  his  fresco  in  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 
the  Meeting  of  Wellington  and  Blucher  after  Waterloo,”  offers  a pleas- 


THK  PRINCESS  AND  THE  PELICANS. MARKS. 


ing  exception,  and  is  really  a great  work,  although  even  thus  early  does 
it  show  traces  of  Time’s  effacing  fingers.  When  it  was  first  opened  to 
the  public  it  was  equalled  by  very  few  works  of  tlie  sort  in  England. 
And  now  it  is  a lady  who  carries  away  the  palm  in  this  department  of 
English  contemporary  art.  Miss  Elizabeth  Thompson,  now  Mrs.  Butler — 
since  she  has  been  married  within  the  year  to  Captain  Butler,  the  well- 
known  African  explorer — has  gained  a sudden  and  surprising  rc]uitation 
for  military  scenes,  in  which  it  is  claimed  that  unusual  power  is  dis])layed, 
especially  in  the  action  of  horses.  So  rapid  has  been  the  rise  of  her  fame, 
that  within  two  years  of  her  first  ap])earance  at  the  Academy  she  has 
received,  it  is  said,  £5000  for  a ])ainting,  while  £80  or  £100  is  asked  for  a 
mere  rough  peu-and-iuk  sketch  of  hers.  The  cinuimstances  of  her  (*ase 
are  so  ])eculiar  that  whatever  is  said  about  her  is  sure  to  be  misinterpreted 
by  some  ; for,  on  the  one  hand,  those  who  ai*e  jealous  of  her  success,  or 
disgusted  by  the  possibly  undue  estimate  placed  upon  her  powers,  are  un- 


38 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


willing  to  accord  her  the  credit  of  real  ability,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
certain  persons  of  more  zeal  than  discretion,  who  act  as  if  they  thought 
the  relations  of  the  sexes  depended  upon  a similarity  of  intellectual  force 
in  each,  instead  of  upon  elements  far  more  subtle  and  profound,  are  ready 
to  cry  down  all  just  criticism  of  female  art  as  the  natural  result  of  cruel 
prejudice  against  oppressed  woman.  The  facts  seem  to  be  somewhat  as 
follows : Miss  Thompson  is  a lady  of  about  thirty -two  years  of  agb,  who 
from  early  childhood  has  displayed  a taste  for  drawing  horses  and  sol- 
diers. She  studied  at  South  Kensington,  and  has  enjoyed  all  the  advan- 
tages now  offered  to  art  students.  For  a number  of  years  she  painted  as 
an  amateur,  until  it  was  proposed  to  her  to  exhibit  some  of  her  works. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  happened  to  like  her  first  painting  at  the  Academy, 


MISS  ELIZABETH  THOMPSON. 


and  induced  the  Queen  to  purchase  it.  Any  one  who  has  the  slightest 
acquaintance  with  the  way  English  society  is  constructed  does  not  need 
to  be  told  that  after  this  Miss  Thompson’s  fortune  was  secure.  Well, 
Miss  Thompson  having  acquired  a seat  on  Olympus,  further  criticism  of 
her  paintings  would  for  a while  have  little  effect  in  depressing  or  enhan- 
cing their  value.  But  it  is  to  her  great  credit  that  sudden  success  does 
not  seem  to  have  turned  her  head  or  induced  her  to  relax  in  the  effort  to 
improve,  whioh  would  indicate  that  she  is  inspired  by  genuine  art  feeling. 


ELIZABETH  THOMPSON. 


39 


Each  successive  work  has  shown  improvement,  and  a disposition  to  profit 
by  the  suggestions  of  the  critics.  “ The  Eoll-Call,”  The  28th  at  Quatre 
Bras,”  and  Balaklava  ” are  all  military  subjects.  It  would  be  natural  for 
some  errors  to  appear  in  them : the  wonder  is,  considering  the  circum- 
stances, that  they  are  so  few.  As  works  of  art,  we  should  say  that  they 
display  real  pathos  and  dramatic  power  in  parts,  often  with  effective 
drawing  of  the  horses.  But  the  power  is  too  scattered ; the  composition 
lacks  simplicity,  breadth,  concentration.  While  isolated  groups  are  admi- 
rably conceived,  and  would  appear  well  as  separate  paintings  or  episodes, 
tliey  do  not  sufficiently  harmonize  to  form  the  unity  of  one  great  compo- 
sition. The  coloring  is  also  sometimes  very  good,  and  then,  again,  is  im- 
paired by  crude  unnatural  yellows,  or  otlier  tints  out  of  tone  with  the 
rest.  Miss  Tliompson’s  genius  seems  to  be  lyrical  ratlier  than  epic.  It  is 
said  slie  intends  to  abandon  war  pictures  and  take  up  sacred  subjects.  It 
would  not  be  surprising  if  she  sliould  succeed  well  in  these,  if  she  con- 
fines herself  to  simple  compositions.  The  cut  given  above,  from  her 
painting  entitled  “Missing,”  gives  a good  idea  of  her  power  in  drawing 
and  the  management  of  single  groups. 


40 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


Among  those  who  make  a specialty  of  painting  a similar  class  of  sub- 
jects with  those  so  admirably  handled  by  the  late  Sir  Edwin  Landseer,  are 
many  who  might  be  favorably  mentioned.  Ansdell  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  among  them,  but  he  is  artificial  in  color  and  treatment,  and  is 
inferior  to  P.  Graham  and  II.  W.  B.  Davis,  and  a number  of  others  who 
deserve  kindly  mention,  without,  at  the  same  time,  offering  any  name  of 
commanding  and  jire- eminent  power  like  that  of  Troy  on  or  Eosa  Bon- 
heur,  in  France. 

As  regards  landscape  art  in  England,  it  cannot  be  said  that  there  are 
any  now  painting  in  such  a style  as  to  make  us  forget  Turner,  Constable, 


or  old  Chrome ; but  such  men  as  George  Cole  and  his  son  Yicat  Cole, 
Graham,  Leader,  MacWhirter,  Brett,  and  Millais,  among  many  that  we 
might  mention  in  oil-painting,  produce  works  which  show  a careful  and 
loving  study  of  nature,  and,  if  they  do  not  impress  us  like  the  magnificent 
dreams  of  imperial  landscapists,  command  our  respectful  attention.  Mil- 
lais has  only  recently  taken  up  this  branch  of  art;  but  in  such  works  as 
“ Over  the  Hills  and  Far  Away  ” has,  almost  at  a bound,  jDlaced  himself 
among  the  first  of  living  landscapists.  J.  Brett,  painter  of  the  famous 
Stone -breaker,”  may  be  regarded  somewdiat  in  the  light  of  a curious 
fossil  or  phenomenon  of  other  days,  for  he  is  one  of  the  few  surviving 


VICAT  COLE. 


LANDSCAPE  ARTISTS. 


41 


pre-Raphaelites  wlio  have  never  swerved  from  their  first  allegiance.  A 
good  colorist,  he  renders  nature  with  a photographic  precision  and  fidelity 
that  is  so  astonishing  as,  by  arousing  wonder  at  such  patient  dexterity,  to 
interfere  with  our  sympathy  with  the  scene  represented.  His  manner 
partakes  too  much  of  a tour  de  force.  We  respect  the  sturdy  British 
faithfulness  with  which  he  clings  to  his  first  love,  even  if  it  be  a false 
theory,  hut  gladly  turn  away  to  canvases  that  more  restfully  impress  the 
observer  by  acknowledging  the  value  of  the  ideal  in  art.  Mark  Fisher, 
a Boston  artist,  who  had  to  leave  his  native  land  in  order  to  find  the  ap- 
preciation he  deserves,  has  won  a front  rank  in  the  landscape  art  of  his 
adopted  country,  and  seems  to  have  no  superior  there  in  the  interpreta- 


J.  C.  HOOK. 

tion  of  certain  aspects^  of  nature.  A too  common  fault  wdth  English 
landscape  art  at  present  is  a certain  dryness  and  hardness,  especially  in 
the  painting  of  skies.  In  water -colors  we  find  more  who  seem  to  the 
‘^manner  horn.”  Frederick  Walker  was  admirable  in  this  line,  very 
happily  combining  figure  with  his  landscapes ; and  there  are,  perhaps, 
none  living  to  equal  the  matchless  boldness,  breadth,  and  tender  grays  of 
David  Cox  or  Copley  Fielding;  but  such  men  as  Haftel,  Dauby,  Birket 
Foster,  Mole,  Wimperis,  Chase,  Iline,  E.  Jennings,  and  a number  of  others, 
give  us  work  that  is  quite  promising  and  satisfactory,  and  generally  supe- 
rior in  treatment  and  harmony  or  sweetness  of  tone  to  the  average  oil 
landscapes  of  the  English  School.  There  is,  perha])s,  not  quite  enough 
breadth  of  treatment  in  their  general  style,  it  is  so  ditficult  to  attain  and 


42 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


keep  the  juste  milieu.  The  style  of  some  schools  and  artists  is  broad  to 
vagueness  and  blotchiness ; of  others,  so  finished  up  to  the  nail  that  noth- 
ing is  left  to  the  fancy,  and  the  feebleness  of  art  in  the  face  of  nature  is 


LUFF,  BOY,  LUFF  !” HOOK. 


thus  palpably  demonstrated.  Only  the  greatest  masters,  the  founders  of 
schools,  avoid  either  extreme. 

The  contemporary  marine  art  of  the  country  is  rather  disappointing, 
not  because  there  is  not  considerable  good  work  evident  among  the  pro- 
ductions of  some  of  the  marine  artists  there,  but  because  it  is,  on  the 
whole,  of  less  proportionate  merit  than  in  the  other  branches  of  English 
art.  Many  of  the  English  marine  artists  work  both  in  oil  and  aquarelle, 
but  invariably — excepting  Hook  (who  is  rather  a painter  of  marine  genre^ 
and  very  clever  in  that  line),  Hayes,  Cooke,  Dawson,  and  a few  others 
wdth  more  satisfactory  results  in  the  latter ; which  is  to  be  regretted,  be- 
cause, however  effective  water -colors  may  be  for  landscape  or  the  figure, 
the  weight,  the  power,  the  grandeur,  of  the  sea  does  not  seem  to  be  so  well 
suggested  by  that  method,  while  the  subtle,  impalpable  effect  of  spoon- 
drift,  or  the  hyaline  character  of  the  mysterious  greens  of  sea-water,  I have 
never  yet  seen  satisfactorily  represented  in  aquarelle.  Besides  the  names 
alluded  to  above,  Duncan,  Moore,  Jackson,  Leitch  (whose  illustrations  to 


MARINE— PORTRAITURE. 


43 


Robinson  Crusoe  ” are  the  most  conscientious  and  effective  things  of 
the  sort  ever  done),  Mogford,  Powell,  Walters,  Read,  and  Severn  may  be 
spoken  of  as  respectable  representatives  of  English  marine  art.  Black- 
and-white  drawings  by  the  last  two  were  among  the  best  things  of  the 
sort  I have  seen  in  London. 

But  there  can  be  but  little  difference  of  opinion  regarding  the  rank  to 
be  assigned  to  portraiture  in  England  just  now.  The  number  of  portrait- 
painters  is  large,  and  many  of  them  leave  little  to  be  desired  in  that  de- 
partment of  art.  There  is  a freshness,  a vigor,  a purity  of  color,  a free- 
dom of  touch,  a resemblance  to  nature,  in  many  of  the  portraits  now 
produced  in  London  which  recalls  the  time  when  Reynolds  and  Gains- 
borough were  the  foremost  artists  of  the  English  SchooL  Pettie,  Sant, 
Leighton,  Leslie,  Ouless,  Millais,  Poynter,  have  each  an  individuality  of 
his  own,  and  all  are  deserving  of  more  notice  than  mere  allusion.  As 
before  observed,  Millais  does  some  admirable  work  in  landscape ; he  also 
first  achieved  a high  and  deserved  reputation  in  genre  and  historical  paint- 
ing. Latterly  he  has  added  to  his  versatility,  entering  the  field  of  portrai- 
ture, and  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  living  portrait  - painters  of 
Great  Britain.  There  is  sometimes  a suggestion  of  stiffness  in  the  atti- 
tudes of  his  figures,  but  the  treatment  and  texture  are  free  from  manner- 
ism, sometimes  broad,  sometimes  very  delicate  and  carefully  finished,  ac- 
cording to  the  subject.  As  a colorist  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  he  should  not 
be  assigned  to  a place  among  the  foremost  that  Great  Britain  has  produced. 

John  Everett  Millais  was  born  in  1829.  lie  began  to  study  art  at 
the  Royal  Academy  at  the  early  age  of  eleven,  and  at  eighteen  obtained 
the  gold  medal  for  historical  painting.  Soon  after,  together  Avith  Holman 
Hunt  and  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti,  he  formed  the  Brotherhood  of  the  pre- 
Raphaelites,”  from  which  he  has  gradually  drifted  away ; Rossetti,  so  far 
as  methods  are  concerned,  has  also  dropped  the  practice  of  the  essential 
principle  of  that  school,  a realism  so  bald  as  nearly  to  result  in  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  ideal,  which  is  like  the  “Iliad”  with  the  wrath  of  Achilles 
left  out.  At  twenty-four,  the  earliest  age  permitted,  Millais  was  elected 
an  Associate  of  the  Academy.  “The  Black  Brunswicker ” is  one  of  his 
most  popular  pictures.  He  has  been  very  successful  also  in  etching  and 
drawing  on  wood.  No  living  English  artist  surpasses  him  in  versatility, 
wliile  it  may  be  justly  said  of  him  as  of  Goldsmith,  “nullum  tetigit  quod 
non  ornavit.” 


44 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


Walter  W.  Onless,  who  is  now  not  over  twenty-eight  years  old,  is  from 
the  island  of  Jersey,  and  a pnpil  of  Millais,  who  was  so  overcrowded  with 
commissions  that  he  gave  all  below  a certain  sum  to  Ouless,  which  has 
enabled  him  to  become  known  at  an  nnnsnally  early  age.  But  he  deserves 
all  the  success  he  has  won.  Few  artists  of  greater  promise  in  this  line  can 
be  found.  Flis  texture,  handling,  and  coloring  are  of  a high  order.  In 
the  management  of  red,  which  has  proved  a stumbling-block  to  many  an 
English  artist,  he  rivals  Begnault. 

Mr.  F.  Leighton,  who  is  also  strong  in  portraiture,  is  in  many  respects 
one  of  the  most  notable  artists  in  England.  His  advantages  have,  it  is 
true,  been  unusually  great ; but  there  is  never  any  sign,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  he  is  disposed  to  allow  these  to  supply  the  place  of  earnest, 
honest  work.  At  thirteen  he  began  his  art  studies  at  Florence,  and  con- 
tinued them  at  Berlin,  Paris,  and  Brussels,  so  that  he  cannot  be  said  to 
belong  to  any  school,  but  to  have  adopted  an  eclectic  style.  His  paint- 
ing of  Ciniabue’s  Madonna  carried  through  Florence  ” brought  him 
prominently  before  the  public  before  he  was  thirty.  High  culture,  a 
vague  mysticism,  and  a refined  classical  and  scholarly  feeling  are  natu- 
rally perceptible  in  his  works,  cpialities  which  are  becoming  more  com- 
mon in  English  art  than  before  he  introduced  them  there.  Grace  and 
beauty  rather  than  force  are  the  prevailing  characteristics  of  his  style,  and 
results  intellectual  rather  than  inspirational.  His  j)ainting  called  I)aph- 
nophoria,”  in  the  Academy  for  1876,  has  challenged  much  criticism  of 
both  sorts.  Fully  to  understand  it,  one  should  put  himself  in  the  artist’s 
place,  and  try  to  see  what  it  was  lie  intended  to  rej^resent ; for,  regarded 
as  a painting  j^ure  and  simple,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  fails  of  some 
of  the  qualifications  generally  considered  essential  to  such  a woi*k.  The 
painting  is  seventeen  feet  long  and  seven  feet  eight  inches  wide,  com- 
posed in  decorative  style  for  the  country-seat  of  Mr.  J.  Stewart  Hodgson. 
It  represents  the  noble  youth  of  Thebes  bearing  gifts  to  Aj^ollo  at  the  fes- 
tival held  in  honor  of  the  deity  once  in  nine  years.  A band  of  maidens, 
the  loveliest  of  the  lovely  of  that  glorious  land,  stepping  in  a double  row, 
chant  the  sacred  hymn,  followed  by  musicians  striking  the  loud-sounding 
cymbal  and  timbrel,  and  preceded  by  a row  of  singing  boys.  The  proces- 
sion is  led  by  youths  carrying  a suit  of  armor  and  symbolical  emblems  of 
the  god,  headed  by  the  priest  of  Apollo  — a noble  youth  of  commanding 
form,  drawn  with  consummate  art.  Beyond  is  a grove  of  stone-pines  as  a 


LEIGHTON— POYNTER. 


45 


dark  background,  with  lookers-on,  and  in  the  distance  the  Acropolis.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  at  first  the  painting  conflicts  with  preconceived 
ideas  of  art,  and  fails  to  receive  unqualified  assent,  while  at  the  same  time 
it  strangely  attracts,  and  leads  one  to  return  again  and  again  to  it  with 
ever-increasing  admiration.  And  while  it  would  be  much  to  be  regretted 
if  all  paintings  imitated  the  style  of  this,  yet  it  could  be  wished  that  all 
artists  succeeded  as  well  as  Mr.  Leighton  has  done  in  giving  ocular  expres- 
sion to  their  conceptions.  Such  drawing  of  the  “ human  form  divine  ” is 
rarely  excelled,  and  the  delicate  harmony  of  colors  displayed  in  the  robes 
of  the  maidens  impresses  one  like  the  rhythm  of  exquisitely  modulated 


F.  LEIGHTON. 


music,  until,  as  one  gazes  on  these  strangely  magical  singers,  the  very  song 
they  are  chanting  seems  to  issue  from  their  opened  lips,  and  ever  after,  as 
one  thinks  on  the  painting,  he  appears  to  hear  the  strains  they  warhled  on 
the  plains  of  Hellas  ages  and  ages  ago.  Quito  recently  l\rr.  Leighton  has 
taken  to  sculpture  with  excellent  results.  His  group  “An  Athlete  Stiaig- 
gling  with  a Serpent”  was  sold  for  £2000. 

kfr.  Edward  J.  Foynter  lias  also  achieved  remarkahle  success  in  tlie  same 
direction  as  that  attempted  liy  the  “ Daphnojihoria,”  but  our  limits  foi’bid 
more  than  mere  allusion  to  his  ambitious  effort,  styled  “Atalanta's  Race’’ 
— a ])ainting  fourteen  feet  long,  open  to  criticism,  while  at  the  same  time 


46 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


the  drawing,  foreshortening,  and  coloring  of  the  figure  of  Atalanta  are 
worthy  a very  high  rank  in  contemporary  art.  That  these  two  paintings 
are  all  that  could  he  desired  may  and  will  be  questioned  by  many  ; but 
these  and  similar  works  of  the  kind  somewhat  compensate  for  the  average 
moderate  quality  of  much  contemporary  English  art,  and  seem,  also,  to 
indicate  that  it  is  in  a transitional  state,  although  it  is  as  yet  too  early, 
perhaps,  to  forecast  the  final  results.  The  accompanying  engraving  gives 
a good  idea  of  the  style  of  Mr.  Poyiiter’s  composition  and  power  as  a 
draughtsman. 

This  artist  is  now  about  forty-one,  and  therefore  in  the  prime  of  life, 
lie  early  came  under  the  infiuence  of  Leighton,  but  has  sulficient  ability 
to  follow  in  a path  of  his  own.  From  the  ]3ainting  of  window-glass  he  has 
passed  through  the  various  stages  of  book  illustrating  and  decorating,  and 
has  in  turn  devoted  himself  to  almost  every  form  of  decorative  art.  As 
an  art  instructor  he  probably  holds  the  first  place  in  England  at  the  pres- 
ent day.  But  with  all  this  versatility,  combined  with  a masterful  appre- 
hension of  the  historical  and  technical  phases  of  art,  which  sometimes  re- 
sult in  works  highly  interesting  and  instructive,  it  appears  to  us  that  we 
here  behold  an  imitative  rather  than  a creative  mind,  a mind  very  active 
and  versatile,  it  is  true,  but  depending  upon  a study  of  the  antique  more 
than  upon  nature  for  its  ideas.  But  on  this  point  a certain  reserve  is  per- 
haps best,  because  there  is  so  much  to  be  said  on  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion. That  this  style  of  art  is,  however,  thoroughly  un-English  and  alto- 
gether due  to  foreign  models  is  beyond  dispute  quite  as  much  as  that  the 
literary  styles  of  Dryden’s  time  were  borrowed  from  those  of  France  in 
that  age. 

Of  tlie  present  condition  of  the  plastic  arts  in  Great  Britain  a great 
deal  that  is  favorable  can  be  said.  Although,  perhaps,  in  sculpture  some 
might  claim,  with  an  appearance  of  justice,  that  there  is  nothing  to  rival 
the  ancients,  or  even  Thorwaldsen,  or  Canova,  or  Chantrey,  yet,  setting 
comparisons  aside,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  such  men  as  Foley  and  A. 
Stevens,  who  have  but  recently  passed  away,  were  men  of  real  genius. 
The  monument  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  St.  Paul’s,  by  the  latter, 
is  a very  noble  work,  characterized  by  vigorous  imagination  and  nervous 
action.  Edward  B.  Stephens  is  also  a sculptor  of  very  respectable  powers ; 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  Bell,  Armistead,  Calder  Marshall,  Theed, 
Woollier,  AYeekes,  and  Aliss  Montalba. 


Till';  (iOLDKN  A(ii;. — I’OVMKU. 


-V 


lJ-_„ 


4 


ALBERT  MEMORIAL. 


49 


The  monument  to  the  Prince  Consort  in  Kensington  Gardens  gives  a 
very  good  general  idea  of  what  the  best  English  sculptors  of  our  day  are 
doing.  The  monument  was  designed  by  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  with  sugges- 
tions by  the  Queen,  who  has  considerable  artistic  taste,  which  has  been 
inherited  by  some  of  her  cliildren.  The  Crown  Princess  of  Prussia  draws 
and  paints,  and  the  Princess  Louise  displays  marked  talent  in  sculpture 
and  kindred  arts.  The  canopy  is  of  stone-work,  profusely  adorned  with 
gilding  and  magnificent  glass  mosaics.  It  rests  upon  four  clusters  of 
sumptuous  columns  of  polished  Scotch  granite,  joined  by  gilded  metallic 
bands  embossed  with  massive  agate.  Above  this  springs  the  spire  to 
a height  of  180  feet,  adorned  with  numerous  emblematic  figures.  The 
statue  of  the  Prince  is  of  bronze,  gilded,  and  colossal  in  dimensions.  It 
rests  on  a podium,  or  basis,  surrounded  by  an  alto-relievo  containing  169 
figures  above  life  size,  the  representative  men  of  all  ages  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  as  poets,  painters,  musicians,  architects,  and  sculp- 
tors. Michael  Angelo  appears  twice,  as  architect  and  as  painter,  while 
Pacine  is  omitted,  and  no  place  is  found  for  any  native  of  the  M^estern 
continent.  Either  West  or  Powers,  Allston  or  Stuart,  might  have  been 
added  with  propriety.  For  a work  of  this  kind  the  grouping  and  general 
effect  are  really  very  impressive,  and  reflect  great  credit  on  the  talent  of 
Armistead  and  Philip,  the  sculptors  who  designed  the  podium.  At  each 
angle  above  is  a symbolical  marble  group  representing  respectively  Com- 
merce, by  Thorny  croft;  Agriculture,  by  Weekes;  Manufactures,  by  Cal- 
der  Marshall;  and  Engineering,  by  Lawlor.  The, whole  rests  upon  a py- 
ramidal platform,  in  two  stages,  at  each  angle  of  which  are  four  colossal 
marble  groups  typifying  the  four  continents,  by  Theed,  Eoley,  M‘Dowell, 
and  Bell.  They  are  all'worthy  of  high  praise,  although  Asia,  by  the  late 
Mr.  Eoley,  appears  the  most  majestic  as  well  as  satisfactory  as  a work  of 
art.  The  full-bosomed  female  form  seated  royally  on  the  elephant  seems 
the  ideal  Semiramis,  who  swaj^s  empires  by  the  irresistible  influence  of 
queenly  charms  joined  to  commanding  character.  A glance  of  fire,  a 
wave  of  the  matchless  hand,  accomplish  at  her  bid  what  batfies  mailed 
legions.  The  stately  repose  of  the  Persian  figure  is  also  very  effective. 
Eoley’s  Asia  must  be  considered  a masterly  conception.  Such  is  the 
Albert  Memorial  in  detail ; as  a whole,  the  design  is  very  ini])ressive  and 
magnificent,  while  (>pen  to  criticism  in  parts.  AVhatever  may  be  said  of 
the  combination  of  marble  and  gold  by  the  ancient  Greeks,  they  certainly 

4 


50 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


do  not  quite  harmonize  in  a E^orthern  atmosphere,  while  the  dark  color 
of  the  canopy  and  spire  throws  the  marble  out  of  tone.  The  statue  of 
the  Prince  should,  beyond  question,  have  been  of  marble.  As  it  is,  it 
often  is  difficult  to  gain  a clear  view  of  it,  so  dazzling  is  the  light  upon 
it  on  a bright  day,  while  a cloudy  day  confuses  the  outlines  of  the  face 
nearly  as  much.  As  to  the  sitting  posture,  about  which  there  has  been 
so  much  adverse  criticism,  a great  deal  may  be  said  on  both  sides  witliout 
exhausting  the  subject. 

It  is  in  the  kindred  branch  of  architecture  that  we  learn  better  than  in 
any  other  way  the  actual  results  of  the  government  art  training  schools. 
It  is  true,  we  find  no  new  and  original  order  of  architecture  evolved  from 
this  training ; and  in  the  present  age  of  the  world,  and  as  society  is  now 
constituted,  it  is  too  much  to  expect  a new  system.  What  we  see,  amidst 
great  activity  and  much  really  good  work,  is  no  more  than  an  adaptation 
of  the  different  schools  of  other  lands  or  other  days,  not  always  with  j^er- 
fect  taste,  for  a style  that  may  be  good  under  certain  conditions  may  be 
objectionable  with  altered  conditions,  if  there  is  any  authority  in  the  un- 
derlying principles  of  all  good  art,  and  architecture  especially.  It  may 
be  said  the  Greeks  borrowed  their  ideas  from  the  Egyptians,  the  Romans 
from  the  Greeks,  the  Byzantines  from  them  in  turn,  and  the  Saracens 
from  the  Christians,  and  so  through  all  the  history  of  art.  But  each  sep- 
arate order,  even  when  suggested  by  a previous  order,  was,  by  the  genius 
of  the  people  creating  it,  made  to  confonn  to  their  climatic  necessities  or 
the  native  characteristics  of  the  race  to  a degree  that  made  it  practically 
individual  and  distinctive.  How  the  most  enthusiastic  lover  of  modern 
art  cannot  point  to  a single  modern  public  building  erected  since  the  de- 
cline of  the  Renaissance  which  is  not  either  a medley  of  different  existing 
orders  or  a careful  imitation  of  some  one  school  of  architecture.  But  so 
much  having  been  granted,  it  may  be  allowed  that  some  very  handsome 
and  noteworthy  buildings  have  been  erected  of  late  years  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  often  constructed  on  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  art,  that 
architectural  ornament  should  be  constructive,  that  is,  an  integral  part 
of  the  building. 

The  new  Houses  of  Parliament,  designed  by  Sir  Charles  Barry,  form 
the  most  ambitious  structure  of  modern  times,  if  judged  by  dimensions 
and  expense.  It  cannot  be  denied  that,  as  seen  from  the  river  at  early 
morning,  when  partially  veiled  by  a thin  gray  curtain  of  poetic  mist,  while 


ARCHITECTURE. 


51 


the  gilded  pinnacles  of  the  Victoria  Tower  catch  the  first  flash  of  the  ris- 
ing sun,  the  general  effect  of  the  enormous  pile  is  very  imposing.  But 
for  that  very  reason,  when  examined  by  the  noonday  sun,  it  loses  propor- 
tionately, for  a veil  of  mist  hides  the  meaningless  detailed  ornaments  re- 
peated over  the  wdiole  building,  until  the  effect  of  repose  and  grandeur  to 
be  expected  from  such  dimensions  is  very  nearly  destroyed.  And  this  is 
the  prevailing  error  of  modern  architecture.  But  since  the  Houses  of  Par- 
liament were  erected  adjoining  Westminster  Hall  and  Westminster  Ab- 
bey, as  if  to  show  the  contrast  between  ancient  and  modern  architecture, 
great  strides  have  been  made  in  England  both  in  civic  and  domestic  archi- 
tecture. And  it  must  be  admitted  that  this  is  owing,  at  least  in  part,  to 
the  art  training  in  the  government  art  schools  since  1852,  in  addition  to 
the  influence  of  the  Boyal  Institute  of  British  Architects  and  several  sim- 
ilar institutions.  St.  George’s  Hall,  at  Liverpool,  in  classic  style,  com- 
mends itself  as  a building  of  unusual  merit.  The  beauty  of  polished 
Scotch  granite  for  constructive  ornamentation  is  very  well  illustrated  in 
the  pillars  which  support  the  ceiling  of  the  hall.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  Manchester  Koyal  Exchange,  erected,  after  the  Corinthian 
order,  by  Messrs.  Mills  and  Murgatroyd,  the  well-known  architects.  The 
Town-hall  of  Manchester,  scarcely  yet  completed,  is  an  imposing  and  suc- 
cessful attempt  to  imitate  the  mediaeval  styles.  But  were  one  to  enu- 
merate and  describe  all  the  magnificent  civic  buildings  constructed  in 
Great  Britain  during  this  generation,  he  would  require  a portly  volume 
to  do  it  in. 

Much  excellent  work  has  also  been  accomplished  in  the  restoration  of 
many  of  the  fine  old  cathedrals  and  chapels  of  England,  and  Mr.  Street 
has  gained  a merited  reputation  for  entering  fully  into  tlie  spirit  of  the 
original  in  his  restorations  and  additions.  That  this  is  not  always  easy  is 
strikingly  illustrated  by  the  difference  between  tlie  plain  and  ugly  towers 
which  so  great  an  architect  as  Sir  Christo]flier  Wren  added  to  Westmin- 
ster Abl)ey,  and  the  nave  of  Bristol  Cathedral  recently  designed  and  built 
by  Mr.  Street.  He  is  now  superintending  the  new  Inns  of  Court,  which 
the  city  of  London  is  erecting  at  an  estimate  of  £700, OOO,  Messrs.  Spiers, 
Burgess,  AVaterhonse,  and  Shaw  may  also  be  mentioned  as  architects  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  wlio  often  show  excellent  feeling  and  poetic 
taste  in  their  constructions. 

But  the  most  interesting,  satisfactory,  and  perhaps  novel  feature  of 


52 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


Eiiglisli  architecture  at  present  is  the  use  of  terra-cotta  for  constructive 
decoration  in  combination  with  brick.  It  is  found  that  it  endures  the  at- 
mospheric acids  to  much  greater  advantage  than  the  native  stone,  and  the 
creamy  white  tint  it  has  when  new  soon  turns  to  pale  yellows  and  delicate 
browns  and  grays,  which  give  the  effect  of  marble  stained  by  time,  and 
liarmonize  it  admirably  with  the  bricks  which  form  the  body  of  the  build- 
ing. Entire  porticos,  balconies,  friezes,  and  cornices  are  made  of  this 
material,  cast  in  moulds  and  baked,  at  less  cost  than  the  same  ornaments 
could  be  carved  out  of  stone,  with  little  to  choose  between  the  two  in 
point  of  beauty.  Whether  this  is  entirely  according  to  the  principles  of 
architecture,  or  is  likely  to  impair  the  art  of  stone-cutting,  is  a question  for 
art  casuists  to  settle.  The  library  of  tlie  Kensington  Museum  is  con- 
structed entirely  in  this  method,  after  the  Italian  orders,  and  is  in  some 
respects  the  most  noteworthy  and  architecturally  pleasing  public  edifice 
erected  in  London  during  this  century.  It  was  designed  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Moodie,  a graduate  of  the  government  art  training  school, 
and  the  decorative  parts  were  invented  by  pupils  of  the  institution,  espe- 
cially Sykes,  a young  man  of  great  2^romise,  whom  death  has  unfortunate- 
ly snatched  away  just  as  he  was  entering  on  a great  career.  Our  illus- 
tration 53)  gives  some  idea  of  the  rare  elegance  and  originality  of 

the  j^illai’S  of  the  portico,  entirely  of  terra-cotta,  in  drums.  Morris,  an- 
other 2Mi}3il  of  South  Kensington,  designed  terra-cotta  decorations  for 
the  monument  recently  erected  to  Wedgwood  at  Burslem,  which  are  ex- 
celled by  notliing  of  the  sort  in  modern  art.  Much  of  this  terra-cotta 
art  work  reminds  one  of  the  so-called  Manoelite  style,  so  magnificently 
illustrated  at  the  convent  of  Belem,  at  Lisbon.  While  often  very  beau- 
tiful, there  is  constant  danger  of  sacrificing  the  rejDOse  which  is  character- 
istic of  the  highest  art  in  a wealth  of  detail  that  conceals  the  dignity  of 
massive  outlines. 

It  is  2)erfectly  natural  that  with  the  architectural  use  of  terra-cotta  the 
manufacture  of  pottery -ware  should  keep  even  pace;  in  fact,  they  both 
date  their  modern  success  in  England  to  the  potteries  of  Josiali  Wedg- 
wood at  Burslem  and  Etruria  in  the  last  century.  Wedgwood- ware  is 
still  as  great  a favorite  as  ever,  a delicate  wdiite  ]3orcelaneous  biscuit, 
called  jas]3er-ware,  being  the  best.  The  biscuit  is  capable  of  receiving  the 
tints  of  oxides,  the  same  as  glass  or  enamel,  and  the  figures  are  raised  in 
wdiite  relief.  Upward  of  one  thousand  moulds  w^ere  made  during  the  life 


I’IU,AKS  OK  TKUHA-COTTA,  SOUTH  KKNSIMiTON  MUSKUM. 


CEEAMIC  ART. 


55 


of  the  founder,  and  these  are  still  in  use  to  the  present  day ; in  fact,  no 
attempts  have  been  made  to  improve  on  what  was  done  by  Wedgwood. 
To  enumerate  the  numerous  potteries  that  have  sprung  up  in  England 
since  then  is  beyond  our  limits.  But  the  mania,  if  it  may  be  so  called, 
seems  now  at  its  height.  The  prices  demanded  are  enormous  for  English 
ware,  and  some  of  the  work  produced  in  china  or  majolica  is  little  inferior 
to  the  best  work  of  Urbino  or  Sevres.  The  prismatic  lustres  of  De  Mor- 
gan, marvellously  produced  on  claret-colored  grounds  on  vases  of  his  own 
design,  are  quite  wonderful.  The  designs  of  Coleman,  painted  with  full 
artistic  regard  to  the  tints  of  majolica,  are  of  exceptional  grace,  and  dis- 
play good  knowledge  of  the  human  figure ; but,  unfortunately,  Mr.  Cole- 
man no  longer  favors  the  public  with  such  work,  having  abandoned  it 
after  reaching  a high  degree  of  excellence.  Mrs.  E.  Broughton  is  likewise 
entitled  to  a very  high  position  in  the  art  of  decorating  majolica  and 
china.  Mr.  Goode  and  many  amateurs  also  follow  this  pursuit  at  present, 
often  successfully ; and  several  schools  have  been  established  for  exclusive 
instruction  in  ceramic  art.  Among  many  establishments  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  majolica-ware,  and  more  especially  porcelains  and  china,  Minton’s 
extensive  works  at  Stoke-upon-Trent  hold  the  first  position  in  England. 
They  have  been  able  to  imitate  very  successfully  a plate  from  the  finest 
set  ever  made  at  Sevres,  manufactured  expressly  for  Louis  XYI.,  and 
afterward  bought  by  George  lY.,  and  now  valued  at  nearly  half  a million 
sterling.  The  dessert  service  made  at  Minton’s  for  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh is  probabty  the, most  elegant  thing  of  the  sort  that  has  been  exe- 
cuted in  England.  But  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that  the  designs  were  by 
Boullemier,  who  had  already  established  his  fame  at  Sevres.  Solon,  lately 
chief  painter  of  the  works  at  that  place,  is  employed  also  by  them.  I saw 
two  vases  executed  by  him  at  the  elegant  pottery  rooms  of  the  Messrs. 
Goode,  in  London,  which  indicate  the  high-water  mark  reached  in  tlie 
decoration  of  ceramic -ware  in  this  centuiy,  representing  respectively 
wrestlers  and  racers,  most  exquisitely  limned  in  white  rilievo  upon  a base 
of  delicate  olive-green.  Four  airy  sprites,  perched  on  pilasters,  ])ly  cym- 
bals and  horns.  The  spectators  are  also  Cupids,  who  in  various  attitudes 
show  lively  interest  in  the  games,  while  one  entertaining  sprite  is  so  ab- 
sorbed by  the  grapes  he  is  discussing  that  he  altogether  neglects  to  notice 
the  contest.  These  figures  are  composed  in  a thoroughly  classical  s])irit, 
while  the  way  in  which  success  is  achieved  through  several  very  perilous 


56 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


ordeals  of  fire  in  tlie  baking  process  wins  great  credit  for  the  British  arti- 
san; in  fact,  the  extraordinary  beauty  of  Minton’s  tnrcpioise  china  and 
other  porcelain  wares  is  really  dazzling  for  the  perfection  of  the  work- 
manship displayed,  and  the  idea  it  gives  of  the  degree  of  excellence  at  last 
reached  in  England  in  transforming  dull  earths  and  pigments,  as  by  a 
magician’s  wand,  into  objects  rivalling  the  sj^lendor  of  the  02)iuni-eater’s 
dreams. 

Terra-cotta  has  been  turned  to  another  admirable  nse  in  London  by 
being  moulded  into  elegant  recej)tacles  for  flowers  made  to  fit  into  the 
windows.  Many  are  the  houses,  of  the  rich  and  the  lowly  alike,  that  are 
thus  decorated  in  an  inexpensive  way  by  painted  glazed  terra-cotta  boxes 
|flanted  with  a profusion  of  brilliant  flowers. 

Much  of  this  terra-cotta  work  is  done  at  the  potteries  of  the  Messrs. 
Donlton  at  Lambeth,  who,  since  1870,  have  achieved  a brilliant  re2)iitation 
for  the  beauty  of  their  faience  wares.  Dealing  chiefly  in  sober  grays  and 
bines,  tints  perhaj^s  well  suited  to  the  clime  and  race,  they  yet  arrive  at 
very  effective  results.  Full  emjfloyment  is  constantly  given  to  a class  of 
over  fifty  designers,  of  whom  two-thirds  are  ladies,  who  find  in  this  form 
of  decorative  art  a vocation  that  seems  especially  ada^ited  to  develop)  the 
artistic  instincts  of  the  feminine  intellect.  George  Tinworth  also  gains 
at  Lambeth  abundant  scope  for  his  vigorous  genius,  which  works  in  a 
vein  that  is  entirely  his  own.  Of  soft  clay  as  it  comes  from  the  thrower’s 
wheel,  Tinworth  models  gron^^s  of  figures  on  vases,  ^flctnres,  ])anels,  and 
every  variety  of  mouldings.  These  compositions  are  borrowed  from 
sacred  or  secular  legends,  or  from  every-day  life,  and,  with  beautiful 
modelling,  are  often  richly  suggestive  of  ideas  pathetic  or  sublime.  A 
pitcher  he  exhibited  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition  was  })ronounced  to  be  one 
of  the  finest  art  results  of  the  century. 

The  subject  of  household  art  is  one  that  is  now  demanding  much  at- 
tention in  England,  but  it  occupies  a field  so  extensive  and  so  j^eculiarly 
its  own  tliat  we  must  dismiss  the  subject  with  a brief  paragraph.  The 
expense  and  fertile  invention  and  good  taste  bestowed  in  decorating 
cliinmey-pieces  and  sideboards,  dining  and  drawing  rooms,  rival,  2^erha2:)s, 
the  household  art  of  the  Renaissance  in  excellence,  while  surpassing  it  in 
quantity  and  more  general  diffusion  among  the  people,  because  of  the 
superior  means  for  creating  it,  and  the  larger  wealth  of  the  community, 
which  is  probably  greater  than  was  ever  before  distributed  among  a siini- 


HOUSEHOLD  ART. 


57 


lar  number  of  people.  Modern  household  art,  however,  whatever  its 
beauty  and  superiority  of  execution,  must  yield  the  palm  to  ancient  art, 
because  it  is  to  a large  degree  imitative,  and  therefore,  like  most  imitative 
art,  not  free  from  affectation,  nor  always  in  that  suj)reme  good  taste  which 
is  the  result  of  complete  adaptation  between  the  requiring  circumstances 
and  the  objects  devised  to  meet  those  requirements.  But  admitting  these 
defects,  it  may  be  readily  granted  that  there  is  much  in  contemporary 
English  household  art  which  worthily  commands  our  admiration. 


LANDSEEK  PLATE. 


I L-F  RANGE 


T%  TUCII  has  been  said  about  the  mission  of  art  and  the  artist.  Art 
lias  no  mission ; it  is  only  one  form  by  wbicb  the  ideas  of  a race  or 
a nation  find  expression  at  certain  stages  of  intellectual  progress.  That 
has  in  all  ages  been  the  truest  art  wbicb  lias  best  expressed  the  ideas,  the 


AN  ENTERTAINING  STORY, CHEVILLIARD. 


life,  manners,  and  beliefs  of  the  time,  as  felt  by  the  artist  whom  they  in- 
spired ; and  be  lias  been  the  truest  artist  who  lias  simply  used  subjects 
and  forms  of  expression  most  familiar  and  most  in  barmony  with  bis 
natural  sympathies  as  implanted  by  birth  or  education. 


SOURCES  OF  TRUE  ART. 


59 


It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  therefore,  that  art  is  a result  rather 
than  a cause,  a mode  of  utterance  as  much  as  a thought  expressed,  a means 
for  giving  expression  to  certain  individual  or  national  impulses.  Only 
thus  can  we  best  explain  the  reason  for  the  wide  divergences  between  the 
art  of  different  ages  and  races ; while  if  we  thus  define  and  consider  the 
nature  of  art,  we  also  gain  more  mental  breadth  and  instruction  by  study- 
ing through  its  art  the  characteristics  of  each  race  producing  an  art  of 
its  own,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  accepting  these  conditions,  on  which 
all  true  art  is  based,  we  should  do  away  with  much  of  the  narrow,  vapid, 
arrogant  art  criticism  on  the  part  of  those  artists,  art  critics,  and  ama- 
teurs who  confine  themselves  to  admiring  only  certain  schools  of  art  and 
censuring  what  does  not  accord  with  their  own  art  standard,  instead  of  en- 
deavoring to  see  what  is  good  in  each  school,  and  wherein  it  illustrates 
the  history  or  character  of  the  race  that  has  given  it  birth. 

Nothing  could  more  forcibly  convey  an  idea  of  the  truth  of  the  fore- 
going remarks  than  the  difference  between  the  arts  of  England  and 
France,  although  separated  only  by  the  English  Channel,  or  between  the 
three  distinct  stages  through  which  art  has  passed  in  France  itself  since 
the  time  of  David,  in  the  French  Devolution,  to  the  artists  of  the  late  Em- 
pire. If  one  would  hold  the  mirror  up  to  nature — that  is,  study  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  of  these  two  countries  or  these  different  epochs — he 
has  but  to  consider  the  art  of  each.  No  people  ever  portrayed  themselves 
so  candidly,  without  hesitation  or  reserv^e,  as  the  French  have  done  in 
their  fine  arts.  What  Montaigne  did  for  himself  in  his  chateau,  centuries 
ago,  in  his  entertaining,  acute,  egotistic,  but  not  always  elevating,  autobio- 
graphical essays,  the  French  artists  have  done  for  France.  If  their  Avork 
is  often  low  or  demoralizing,  they  are  scarcely  more  to  blame  than  the  race 
of  which  they  are  a part.  A stream  cannot  rise  above  its  source ; and 
while,  as  free  agents,  they  may  not  whohy  free  themselves  from  responsibil- 
ity for  the  corrupting  character  of  much  of  French  art,  the  chief  responsi- 
bility must  finally  rest  with  the  public  Avhich  craves  such  art,  and  stimu- 
lates the  influences  and  ideas  of  which  the  truly  national  artist  is  but  the 
natural  exponent.  If  we  in  America  desire,  therefore,  to  have  not  only  a 
great  but  a pure  school  of  national  art,  it  rests  Avith  ourselves  to  regulate 
the  question.  Just  so  long  as  the  public  demands  and  encourages  only  an 
elevating  art,  and  just  so  long  as  the  national  character  is  of  a noble  type, 
so  long  Avill  the  national  art  partake  of  the  same  nature,  for  artists  do  not 


60 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


create  public  opinion,  as  a rule,  but  are  created  by  it.  How  otlierwise  can 
we  explain  the  fact  that  obscene  works  of  art  are  never  seen  on  exhibition 
in  Great  Britain,  and  rarely  in  Germany ; while  scenes  of  bloodshed,  given 
with  careful  fidelity  to  the  most  harrowing  details,  or  paintings  in  'which 
everything  is  done  to  corrupt  the  morals,  abound  not  only  in  the  by- 
ways of  art  in  Paris,  but  in  the  best  galleries  and  in  the  most  exposed 
positions  ? 

This  condition  of  art  in  France  has  increased  since  the  Second  Empire 
was  founded.  The  nobler  and  purer  character  of  literature  and  art  under 
Louis  Philippe  passed  away  when  Paul  Delaroche,  Delacroix,  and  Ary 
Schefier  gave  place  to  men  of  possibly  equal  intellect,  but  lower  morale. 
It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  Second  Empire  degraded  the  character 
of  the  nation  even  below  its  ordinary  standard,  and  that  the  terrible  over- 
throw France  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Germany  was  owing  very  largely  to 
this  cause.  One  who  returns  from  time  to  time  to  France  finds  that  a 
gradual  degeneration  is  coming  over  tlie  people,  out  of  which,  perhaps,  the 
Pe2:>ublic  may  save  them ; but  unless  this  moral  and  intellectual  decay  that 
is  sapping  the  heart  of  the  nation  be  soon  arrested,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
forecast  tlie  future  of  France. 

But  while,  with  some  honorable  exceptions,  too  much  can  hardly  be 
said  against  the  depraving  character  of  modern  French  art,  we  must  be 
careful  not  to  confound  its  moral  deficiencies  with  its  technical  qualities  as 
art.  While  it  is  to  be  desired,  obviously,  that  all  good  art  should  also  be 
pure  art,  it  is  yet  quite  possible  to  have  a very  high  order  of  technical 
art  combined  with  low  moral  character.  This  is  a distinction  too  often 
forgotcen  even  by  some  critics  of  rej)ute,  who,  if  they  do  not  like  the 
moral  tendency  of  a painting  or  a sculpture,  are  liable  to  condemn  it  al- 
together without  first  considering  whether  it  is  successful  or  not  in  con- 
veying the  artist’s  conception,  or  fulfilling  the  canons  of  art.  But  it  is  a 
distinction  that  cannot  justly  be  avoided  by  one  who  desires  to  criticise 
works  of  art  without  prejudice  and  from  all  points  of  view.  The  evi- 
dence should  be  heard  on  both  sides,  and  the  accused  should  have  the 
benefit  of  whatever  can  be  said  in  his  favor.  Moreover,  as  it  is  quite 
possible  to  produce  works  of  art  that  may  unite  the  high  moral  tone  of 
the  English  school  with  the  technical  excellencies  of  the  Erench,  it  be- 
hooves us  to  give  the  latter  a very  careful  study  wholly  in  the  art  spirit. 

Ho  people  probably  ever  had  the  art  instinct  more  generally  diffused 


ART  TRAITS  OF  THE  FRENCH. 


61 


than  the  French,  although  not  to  so  high  a degree,  perhaps,  as  the  Greeks 
or  the  Italians,  for  they  have  never  yet  produced  anything  quite  equal 
to  what  those  races  have  achieved  in  art,  as  in  literature  and  other  depart- 
ments of  intellectual  effort  they  have  never  produced  any  native  genius 
quite  as  great  as  the  few  Titanic  minds  of  certain  other  races  whose 
genius  has  caused  distinct  epochs  of  progress,  while  there  is  perceptible 
among  them  a larger  average  of  genius.  This  holds  good  especially  with 
their  artists.  An  eye  for  color  and  for  brilliant  effects  is  a prominent 
characteristic  of  the  race ; and  while  singularly  deficient  in  poets  of  the 
first  order,  or,  in  fact,  in  any  poetry  that  is  comparable  with  that  of  other 
lands,  the  poetic  feeling,  of  which  they  must,  of  course,  have  their  share, 
finds  expression  in  form  and  color. 

And  this  artistic  genius  continues  still  in  full  force.  While  the  Gallic 
race  no  longer  presents  us  with  such  men  of  commanding  intellectual 
strength  and  character  as  clustered  around  Henry  lY.  or  Louis  XI Y.,  or 
relieved  the  lurid  horrors  of  the  He  volution  and  the  transient  glare  of  the 
wars  of  the  First  Empire  by  great  abilities  and  gigantic  virtues  and  crimes 
— while  the  French  no  louger  present  us  with  a Corneille  or  a Woliere,  a 
Yoltaire  or  a Madame  Roland,  a Turenne  or  a Soult,  a Bossuet  or  a Mira- 
beau — they  continue  to  offer  us  an  art  that  shows  no  decline  in  vitality, 
although  in  some  respects  less  great  than  the  school  which  died  out  twen- 
ty-five years  ago,  because,  since  art  takes  its  rise  in  national  infiuences,  it 
must  be  nobler  or  inferior  according  to  the  national  character  whose  tastes 
it  illustrates.  The  artistic  turn  is  so  marked  as  a distinctive,  and  at  pres- 
ent the  most  distinctive,  trait,  next  to  the  greed  for  money  now  possessed 
by  the  French  people,  that  it  impresses  one  more  and  more  each  time  he 
returns  to  their  counti-y  and  capital,  and  fascinates  and  captivates  the 
senses  in  spite  of  one’s  more  sober  convictions.  In  London,  vast  as  is 
the  art  field,  yet  the  city  is  so  enormous,  and  the  other  interests  and  oc- 
cupations engrossing  the  public  attention  are  so  multiplied  and  extensive, 
that  art,  if  it  is  not  relegated  to  a subordinate  position,  at  least  seems  but 
one  of  many  forms  of  expression  by  which  the  greatest  race  the  world 
has  seen  since  the  days  of  Bericles  finds  vent  for  the  utterance  of  its 
magnificent  energies,  teeming  thought,  and  unsurpassed  dignity  of  na- 
tional character. 

But  it  is  quite  otherwise  in  Paris.  There  is  the  art  capital  of  Euro})e, 
although  Munich  and  Berlin  are  pressing  it  hard,  and  threaten  to  be  for- 


62 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


midable  rivals.  But  tlie  vastness  and  magnificence  of  Paris,  the  vigor  of 
its  art  schools,  and,  above  all,  the  long  - established  organizations  for  the 
patronage  of  French  art  as  a matter  of  national  pride  par  excellence^  will 
enable  Paris  to  give  her  rivals  a long  race  yet.  Like  a vast  maelstrom,  it 
draws  thither  artistic  minds  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 


THE  ORANGES. BOUGUEREAU. 


Everything  in  the  appearance  of  Paris  indicates  its  character  as  an  art 
emporium,  where  works  of  art  are  not  only  j)roduced  and  sold,  but  also 
exercise  a powerful  influence  over  the  public  taste.  The  streets  are  laid 
out  with  consummate  perspective  effect.  The  squares  and  gardens  leave 
little  to  be  desired.  The  Place  de  la  Concorde  is  the  central  spot  of  a 
combination  of  architectural  effects  probably  unsurpassed  at  the  present 


ARTISTIC  DISPLAYS  OF  PARIS. 


63 


daj.  The  eye  for  effect  and  color  natural  to  the  people  is  apparent  in  the 
shop-windows,  wdiere  various  shades  of  drapery  and  other  stuffs  may  often 
be  seen  arranged  in  a harmony  so  exquisite  as  to  move  one  like  a concord 
of  sweet  sounds.  The  jewellery  shops,  as,  for  example,  those  in  the  Palais 
Poyal,  present  an  array  of  splendor  as  often  artistic  as  dazzling.  The  verv 
meat-stalls  are  indications  of  that  sensuous  love  of  beauty  for  its  own  sake 
which  inspired  the  Athenian  of  old,  and  is  with  the  Parisian  of  to-day  a 
more  powerful  motor  than  either  moral  or  political  principle.  The  vari- 
ous meats  are  hung  in  a certain  order,  adorned  with  flowers  and  paper  cut 
into  elaborate  patterns,  and  the  back  of  a hog  or  a sheejD  is  figured  with 
designs  made  by  cutting  away  the  inner  skin  and  leaving  the  red  flesh  ex- 
posed. At  Mardi  Gras  the  butchers’  stalls  are  objects  of  general  attraction 
for  the  more  than  ordinary  ingenuity  and  taste  displayed  in  the  adornment 
of  the  sheep  and  beeves,  hung  whole  from  the  ceiling  in  holiday  attire  of 
greens,  ribbons,  and  tinsel.  The  public  galleries  at  the  Louvre  and  the 
Luxembourg  are  crowded,  especially  on  Sunday  and  fete  days,  not  so  much 
by  foreign  visitors  as  by  the  populace  of  all  classes  and  conditions.  The 
same  is  the  case  with  the  exhibitions  of  the  clubs.  When  the  masterpieces 
concentrated  in  the  square  room  of  the  Louvre  alone  are  considered,  the 
influence  for  good  or  evil  thus  exerted  must  be  incalculable. 

Art  dealers’  shops,  of  course,  abound,  and  one  is  sure  to  see  two  or 
three  good  paintings  in  the  windows  of  every  leading  thoroughfare.  These 
shops  are  generally  small,  and  the  best  they  contain  is  to  be  seen  from  the 
street ; but  this  is  of  little  consequence,  so  vast  is  the  field  elsewliere.  The 
exhibition  of  gold  and  silver  wares,  marbles,  and  bronzes  in  the  windows 
on  the  boulevards  is  also  astonishing. 

Some  idea  of  the  value  of  the  art  in  Paris  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  the  sales  of  paintings  alone  average  40,000,000  of  francs  per 
annum — equal,  by  reason  of  the  difference  in  values,  to  nearly  twice  tliat 
sum  in  the  United  States.  The  number  of  artists  in  the  city  is  over  eight 
tliousand.  When  we  take  into  consideration  the  persons  dependent  upon 
these  eight  thousand  artists,  the  army  of  art  students — French  and  foreign 
— residing  here,  and  the  many  thousands  engaged  in  the  sale  of  works 
of  art,  including  tlie  production  and  sale  of  frames,  colors,  engravings, 
bronzes,  or  statuary,  we  find  tiuit  art  is  the  business  engrossing  the  atten- 
tion of  a larger  niind)er,  and  employing  perhaps  more  capital,  than  any 
other  legitimate  business  in  Paris,  except  that  of  hotels  and  restaurants. 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


U 

It  should  not  be  kept  out  of  sight  that  the  Government  is  behind  all 
this  inachinerj,  and  maintains  a directing  hand  in  the  chief  institutions. 
By  a species  of  prophetic  instinct,  the  French  seem  to  have  felt  for  a long 
time  that  the  art  talent  is  the  peculiar  gift  of  their  race,  and  likely  to  sur- 
vive their  other  national  qualities,  and  have  therefore  fostered  the  growth 
of  art  by  organizations  far-seeing  in  their  bearing,  and,  if  not  always  suited 
to  our  times,  wise  when  first  established.  'Whether  at  the  present  day,  ex- 
cept in  such  countries  as  Bussia,  government  patronage  of  art  education 
is  the  best  thing  for  a country  or  for  the  true  growth  of  good  art,  is  a 
question  about  which  tliere  may  be  an  honest  difference  of  opinion.  But 


IIIPPOLYTE  ADOLPHE  TAINE. 

Louis  XIV.  thought  otherwise,  so  also  Xapoleon  I.,  and  most  probably 
very  judiciously  for  tlieir  time.  Therefore  we  now  find  in  France  a 
Minister  of  the  Fine  Arts  appointed  as  much  a matter  of  course  as  a 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  It  is  his  business  to  superintend  the  whole 
question  of  art  in  the  country,  to  regulate  government  patronage  of  art, 
to  adorn  the  public  squares  with  statuary,  to  purchase  works  for  the  na- 
tional art  galleries,  to  preside  over  the  national  school  of  art,  to  pay  the 
professors,  and  to  direct  the  annual  exhibitions  at  the  Salon,  besides  many 
similar  matters. 

In  addition,  there  is  an  annual  budget  allowed  by  the  legislature  for 
art  purposes.  The  art  appropriation  for  187G  was  7,500,000  francs,  and 


ACADfiMIE  DES  BEAUX  ARTS. 


65 


about  tlie  same  sum  is  included  in  the  budget  for  the  year  1877,  which 
was  drawn  up  by  M.  Edouard  Turquet,  the  Deputy  for  Aisne,  and  a mem- 
ber of  the  Commission  des  Beaux  Arts,  a gentleman  of  art  enthusiasm 
and  culture.  Out  of  this  amount  280,000  francs  are  appropriated  to  the 
purchase  of  works  of  art  in  the  great  annual  exhibition  at  the  Salon,  and 
as  such  selections  are  intended  for  the  double  purpose  of  adorning  the 
state  buildings  and  galleries  and  to  stimulate  the  growth  of  good  art,  they 
are  made  with  the  utmost  care,  and  are  subjected  to  public  scrutiny.  Two 
hundred  and  fifty-four  thousand  francs  are  also  set  apart  for  the  succor  of 
indigent  artists  or  their  widows  and  orphans — an  admirable  provision,  al- 
though it  is  better  met  by  such  a co-oj)erative  society  as  that  existing 
among  the  artists  of  London,  for  through  such  a channel  the  poor  artist 
can  accept  aid  with  less  loss  of  self-respect. 

The  first  institution  coming  under  the  care  of  the  Bureau  of  Fine 
Arts  is  the  Academie  des  Beaux  x\rts,  corresponding  to  the  Academy  of 
Letters.  It  consists  of  forty  members,  selected  from  medallists  in  the 
four  departments  of  art.  They  hold  sessions  weekly,  and  a grand  session 
once  a year.  The  institution  next  in  rank,  and  of  equal  importance,  under 
government  supervision  is  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  in  the  Bue  Bona- 
parte. The  building  it  now  occupies  was  erected  in  1837.  One  passes 
from  the  street  into  a quadrangular  court,  whose  walls  are  frescoed  in 
Pompeiian  style  and  enclose  fac-similes  of  celebrated  antiques  of  various 
schools.  Two  other  courts  are  beyond,  the  one  open  and  musical  with  the 
song  of  birds  nestling  in  the  shrubbery,  the  other  covered  with  glass  and 
containing  large  architectural  models  and  colossal  statues  after  the  an- 
tique. On  the  ground-fioor  are  galleries  of  statuary  most  carefully  copied 
from  the  best  Greek  and  Boman  marbles,  including  the  Elgin  rilievos. 
On  the  second  fioor  are  open  corridors  or  cloisters  decorated  with  frescoes 
after  Baphael,  leading  to  the  rooms  of  the  committee,  where  are  hung  the 
portraits  of  all  who  have  taught  in  the  Academy  from  its  foundation. 
Connected  with  these  rooms  is  the  semicircular  hall  devoted  to  lectures 
on  art,  which  are  now  read  twice  a week  by  ^[.  Taiue.  On  the  walls  of 
the  amphitheatre  is  painted  the  celebrated  “llemicycle  des  Beaux  Arts,” 
of  Paul  Delaroche,  representing  the  great  artists  of  the  various  Beuais- 
sance  schools  conversing  in  groups.  Farther  on  are  the  ateliers  of  the 
students  where  C7ibanel,  Gerdme,  Pils,  and  Andre  give  instruction,  and 
the  gallery  in  which  the  prize  exhibitions  are  held.  This  is  a spacious 


66 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


hall  enriched  bj  copies  of  the  best  works  of  Kaphael,  Titian,  Yelasquez, 
and  other  masters.  In  addition  to  this  gallery  are  the  rooms  where 
the  works  which  have  obtained  the  first  prize  or  the  medals  are  pre- 
served. 

In  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  drawing,  painting,  sculpture,  architecture, 
and  engraving  are  taught.  Puj^ils  are  admitted  between  the  ages  of  fif- 
teen and  thirty,  without  distinction  as  to  race,  the  requisites  being  an  in- 
troduction by  some  French  artist  in  good  repute,  a passport  or  a register 
of  birth  and  parentage,  and  a drawing  from  life  done  in  twelve  hours  and 
considered  satisfactory  evidence  of  capacity  for  the  pursuit  of  art.  As 
foreigners  are  ineligible  to  the  first  prize,  they  are  admitted  ^rhen  over 
thirty  years  old.  By  the  rules  of  the  institution  women  are  excluded 
from  the  advantages  offered  by  this  school,  which,  when  everything  is 
taken  into  consideration,  is,  on  the  whole,  a salutary  regulation.  There 
are  several  prizes  given  annually  to  the  successful  aspirants.  The  most 
important  is  the  Grand  Prix  de  Pome,  for  painting,  sculpture,  architect- 
ure, and  engraving  respectively,  and  in  each  case  it  takes  the  successful 
candidate  to  Pome  for  four  years,  with  a pension  of  4000  francs.  Madame 
Caen  has  also  left  a fund  yielding  an  equal  sum  yearly  to  the  artist  on  his 
return  from  Pome,  for  a similar  period,  and  he  is  thus  provided  for  and 
saved  from  pecuniary  anxiety  during  the  first  eight  years  of  his  career. 
Here  is  a prize  worth  striving  to  win.  The  examination  preliminary  to 
admission  to  the  institution  is  searching,  and  intended  to  limit  its  advan- 
tages only  to  the  most  worthy. 

Last  year  a new  professorship  was  founded,  which  has  been  long 
needed,  and  should  be  added  to  every  school  of  art — a chair  of  literature, 
or  helles-lettres.  Its  establishment  I consider  the  most  hopeful  sign  in  the 
present  condition  of  French  art,  for  it  indicates  a true  sense  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  artist,  and  the  importance  that  what  he  says  should  be  said  not 
as  art  pure  and  simple,  but  with  due  regard  to  its  relations  to  the  other 
departments  of  human  pursuit  and  energy,  as  well  as  its  responsibilities 
towards  the  society  which  gives  it  birth  and  sustenance.  If  artists  would 
paint  and  design  less,  and  study  more  in  other  branches  of  knowledge, 
their  intellects,  their  mental  range,  would  be  rendered  broader,  their  judg- 
ment sounder ; and  if,  as  a result,  they  gave  us  fewer  works,  those  works 
would  be  of  proportionately  greater  value.  We  find  that  the  greatest 
masters  of  antiquity  were  generally  men  of  broad  culture,  and  were  dis- 


EXHIBITION  OF  THE  SALON. 


67 


tinguislied  not  only  in  more  than  one  branch  of  art,  but  also  as  soldiers, 
men  of  letters,  and  diplomatists. 

The  direction  of  the  government  is  also  seen  in  the  annual  exhibi- 
tion of  the  Salon,  held  in  May  and  June  in  the  Palais  dTndnstrie,  at  the 
Champs  Elysees.  This  is  the  great  artistic  event  of  the  year,  to  which  all 
artists,  native  and  foreign,  are  invited  to  contribute.  The  judgment  is 
sufficiently  strict  to  cause  the  rejection  of  three-fourths  of  the  contribu- 
tions, which  only  enhances  the  honor  of  admission  and  the  value  of  the 
medals  aw^arded.  The  exhibition  opens  in  May,  and  lasts  two  months. 
Its  magnitude  and  importance  may  be  understood  from  the  fact  that  over 
8000  paintings  were  offered  for  examination  in  1876,  and  of  these  2095 
were  accepted.  In  addition  were  sculptures,  water-colors,  and  designs  in 
black  and  white,  bringing  up  the  whole  number  of  exhibited  works  to 
over  4000.  This  was  the  ninety-third  exposition  held  since  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Institut  in  1673,  admission  to  which  is  the  highest  official 
honor  that  is  accorded  to  an  artist  in  France.  The  prizes  at  the  exposi- 
tions are  divided  into  medals  of  tliree  classes  for  each  department  of  art 
respectively.  Above  these  are  the  Prix  du  Salon,  and  the  Medaille 
d’llonneur,  the  highest  of  all,  which  entitles  the  winner  to  send  there- 
after any  work  he  chooses,  and  gain  admission  for  it  without  examination. 
In  addition  to  the  prize  medals,  it  is  customary  to  decorate  successful 
artists  with  various  grades  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  It  should  be  added 
that  tlie  annual  catalogue  is  a model  in  its  way.  Much  needful  informa- 
tion is  therein  conveyed  to  the  visitor,  not  only  regarding  tlie  title  of  the 
work  exhibited,  but  the  lull  name  of  the  artist,  his  birthplace,  his  art  in- 
structors, his  decorations,  the  location  of  his  studio,  and  the  destination  of 
tlie  painting,  if  commissioned,  witli  other  items  that  may  occur. 

Many  of  the  works  purchased  at  the  Salon  by  the  Director  of  Fine 
Arts  are  hung  in  the  galleries  of  the  Luxembourg.  Tliat  palace  is  de- 
voted to  the  permanent  exhibition  of  representative  works  in  painting 
and  sculpture  owned  by  the  government,  executed  by  artists  yet  living, 
or  who  have  been  dead  not  over  ten  years.  After  the  lapse  of  that  time 
the  works  are  removed  to  the  Louvre.  This  seems  to  be  the  most  proper 
method  for  bestowing  government  patronage,  and  might  be  adojited  in 
America  with  favorable  results,  for  it  not  only  enables  the  art  student  to 
gain  a good  idea  of  the  condition  of  contemporary  art  in  his  country,  to 
comjiare  it  with  its  ])ast  elforts,  and  to  learn  wherein  it  makes  jirogress  or 


68 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


loses  ground,  but,  in  addition,  is  of  importance  to  sncli  artists  as  find  the 
best  vent  for  their  genius  in  canvases  or  marbles  too  large  and  important 
to  come  within  the  range  of  the  private  buyer.  However  some  may  j)re- 
fer  small  canvases,  it  is  cruel  to  undertake  to  cramp  every  mind  to  the 
same  rules  of  size  or  subject,  and  it  is  useless  to  deny  that  such  men  as 
Michael  Angelo,  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  or  Rubens  would  have  fared  but 


EXPECTATION. TOULMOUCHE. 


poorly  if  they  had  1>een  forced  to  content  themselves  with  executing  only 
such  works  as  can  decorate  the  drawing-room  of  a pidvate  citizen. 

If  our  people  really  desire  to  stimulate  the  growtii  of  high  art  among 
us,  they  should  inaugurate  a judicious  system  of  government  patronage, 
in  which  the  selection  of  native  works  of  art  shall  be  intrusted,  not  to  a 


COMMITTEES  FOR  THE  SALON. 


69 


committee  of  Congressmen  or  politicians  ignorant  in  art  matters,  nor  even 
to  artists  and  connoisseurs  wedded  to  one  idea,  and  who  can  see  merit  only 
in  one  particular  school  or  one  set  of  methods,  but  to  a carefully  chosen 
permanent  committee  of  men  of  broad  cultivation,  judicial  minds,  aesthetic 
tastes,  unimpeachable  integrity,  patriotism  that  includes  the  whole  coun- 
try in  its  scope,  and  a power  of  independent  judgment  that  cannot  be 
approached  or  swayed  by  the  bribery  of  influence,  nepotism,  or  money. 
There  must  be  a few  such  men  in  every  country,  and  why  not  also  in 
ours?  If  we  have  none  of  that  stamp,  let  us  at  once  establish  a mint 
wherein  such  standard  social  coin  can  be  turned  out,  for  no  country 
can  live,  grow,  and  reach  a noble  maturity  without  such  a standard  of 
moral  and  intellectual  values  in  every  de23artment,  whether  of  politics, 
business,  or  the  flne  arts. 

What  is  the  French  opinion  of  the  value  of  the  annual  exhibitions  of 
the  Salon  may  be  gathered  from  the  remarks  of  the  art  critic  of  the  Jour- 
nal Officiel^  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  respectable  papers  j)ublished 
in  Paris.  “ Fame,”  says  this  genuine  Frenchman,  may  be  acquired  in 
other  pursuits  than  that  of  art  as  well  elsewhere  as  in  France  ; but  fame 
in  art  can  only  be  acquired  in  Paris,  and  only  then  by  exhibiting  at  the 
Salon.  Without  this  one  may,  perhaps,  sell  pictures  and  acquire  recanta- 
tion, but  fame  never.”  The  writer  was  alluding  to  Fortuny,  who  from 
timidity  had  refrained  from  ever  submitting  anything  for  admission 
there.  After  reading  this,  one  feels  deep  symj)athy  for  those  great  ar- 
tists who  were  not  born  in  France. 

There  is  much  conq^laint  made  by  artists  whose  contributions  have 
been  refused  admittance  or  been  badly  hung.  Great  injustice  has  un- 
doubtedly been  done  soinetimes.  A notable  instance  of  cn-ejudice  was 
the  constant  rejection  of  the  works  of  Chintreuil,  whose  merits  were  ac- 
knowledged only  a short  time  before  his  death. 

But  this  outcry  is  an  old  story,  and  will  probably  continue  as  long  as 
there  are  artists  to  paint  or  c:»ictures  to  be  hung ; foi*  the  difliculties  are 
inherent  in  the  nature  of  things,  or,  rather,  the  weakness  of  human  nature 
and  the  limitations  of  human  judgment.  An  artist  has  his  work  rejected. 
It  does  not  once  occur  to  him  that  it  is  (juite  possible  he  has  overesti- 
mated its  importance,  and  that  the  chief  object  of  having  exhibitions  and 
art  juries  is  to  kee})  up  the  art  standai'd,  and  to  decide  whether  his  work 
is  yet  entitled  to  a certain  rank,  lie  hastily  assumes  that  ignorance  or 


70 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


prejudice  lias  decided  against  him.  It  may  sometimes;  but  the  diffi- 
culty is  generally  the  other  way.  If  his  work  is  accepted,  perhaps  he 
growls  because  it  is  badly  hung,  and  nothing  can  convince  him  that  any- 
thing but  personal  hostility  could  have  assigned  him  such  a place.  In  his 
vanity  he  is  liable  to  forget  that  perhaps  one  reason  his  painting  does  not 
appear  so  well  in  the  gallery  as  in  the  studio  may  be  because,  on  being 
brought  into  comparison  with  works  of  superior  merit,  it  loses  by  con- 
trast ; or  a top  liglit  may  not  suit  a picture  painted  by  a side  light. 

These  and  other  considerations  should  sometimes  temper  the  acerbity 
of  the  discontented  exhibiter,  and  suggest  that,  since  the  fault  may  possi- 
bly be  in  himself,  he  may  overcome  it  by  self-analysis  and  renewed  exer- 
tions to  excel  in  subsequent  works.  It  must  be  granted,  however,  that 


M.  BONNAT. 


there  is  sometimes  cause  for  some  of  the  clamor.  Judges  with  the  best 
intentions  in  the  world  may  find  it  impossible  for  a time  to  comprehend 
the  merits  of  a style  altogether  new,  and  therefore  apparently  bizarre. 
And  it  must  be  conceded  that  prejudice,  jealousy,  and  personal  animosity 
are  sometimes  allowed  more  sway  in  the  decisions  of  art  juries  than  is 
consistent  with  true  manhood.  In  view  of  all  the  difficulties  of  the  case, 
it  is  no  more  than  fair  that  artists  should  be  tried  by  their  peers;  none 
but  experts — that  is,  none  but  professional  artists — should  be  permitted 
to  sit  on  these  juries.  The  system  adopted  at  the  French  Salon  appears 
to  be,  on  the  whole,  the  wisest  yet  devised  for  deciding  upon  works  of  art. 
Two-thirds  of  the  jury  is  annually  chosen  by  the  vote  of  the  artists  them- 


HOTEL  DROUOT. 


71 


selves ; tlie  other  third  is  designated  by  the  Government  Art  Bureau  ; and 
tliere  is  a separate  jury  for  each  department — fifteen  for  painting,  nine 
for  sculpture,  six  for  architecture,  and  nine  for  engraving  and  lithogra- 
phy. There  is  still  another,  and  quite  distinct,  committee  appointed  for 
awarding  the  prizes,  subdivided  like  the  other  jury,  and  presided  over 
by  the  Director  of  Fine  Arts. 

In  addition  to  the  Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  the  government  has  recently 
established  a school  and  manufactory  for  the  production  of  mosaic  pict- 
ures. The  beauty  of  the  mosaics  in  the  New  Opera-house,  which  w^ere 
made  by  Italian  artists,  has  stimulated  the  emulation  of  the  French. 

The  Hotel  Drouot  is  another  establishment  owned  and  controlled  by 
the  government.  Although  not  exclusively  devoted  to  art,  it  should  be 
mentioned  as  an  art  centre.  It  is  a building  on  the  Hue  Drouot,  contain- 
ing eight  large,  lofty  rooms  on  the  ground-floor  and  as  many  in  the  story 
above,  besides  ample  corridors  and  lobbies.  Each  of  these  halls  is  an  auc- 
tion-room ; the  goods  to  be  sold  are  on  exhibition  for  several  days  pre- 
vious to  the  sale ; they  are  arranged  with  taste,  and  opened  to  the  pub- 
lic every  afternoon.  Sales  occur  in  several  of  the  rooms  daily,  and  the 
building  is  always  crowded.  On  Sundays  the  throng  is  almost  im]3assa- 
ble.  The  sales  are  conducted  in  a very  systematic  manner.  Steps  are 
arranged  in  the  back  part  of  the  room  to  enable  the  audience  better  to 
see  the  goods,  and  seats  are  placed  around  the  auctioneers’  desks,  where 
those  who  hold  long  purses  and  propose  to  buy  are  so  seated  that  they 
can  confer  wdth  the  auctioneer,  who  has  several  assistants.  Attendants, 
likewise,  carry  the  articles,  when  possible,  about  the  room  for  examination, 
and  the  bidding  is  often  very  interesting.  It  is  common  for  a sale  to  last 
several  days.  All  the  art  sales  of  Paris  are  held  in  the  Hotel  Drouot,  and 
during  the  season  many  choice  collections  may  be  seen  there,  including 
not  only  paintings  and  statuary,  ancient  and  modern,  but  valuable  tapes- 
tries, ol)jets  de  luxe  of  the  reign  of  Louis  Quatorze,  rare  mediiuval  armor. 
Oriental  collections,  valuable  manuscrij^ts,  and  the  like.  As  an  instance 
may  be  mentioned  the  sale  of  the  collection  of  M.  Sauchon,  at  which  one 
sword  alone,  of  peculiar  and  exquisite  workmanship,  picked  up  at  C\)ii- 
stantinople  for  250  francs,  was  bid  off  at  50,000  francs  to  Baron  Itoths- 
child,  over  an  American  who  ran  it  up  to  -19,000  francs. 

Jlcsides  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  government  for  art  instruction, 
there  are  many  art  schools  in  Paris,  where  the  vast  army  of  aspirants  after 


72 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


art  knowledge  can  acquire  tlie  practice  and  instruction  they  seek.  Some 
are  simply  life  schools,  where  both  sexes  study  from  the  nude  at  the  same 
time — a practice  which  cannot  be  too  much  deprecated,  and  which  is  nei- 
ther demanded  by  the  requirements  of  art,  nor  defensible  under  any  of 
the  line -spun  theories  about  the  impersonality  of  art  with  which  some 
would  degrade  the  standard  of  public  morals,  forgetting  that  art  has  eth- 


BEGGAR  GIRL. MERLE. 


ical  as  well  as  sesthetical  bearino^s.  Besides  these  schools,  several  of  the 
leading  artists  have  schools,  such  as  Chaplin  and  Bonnat,  where,  for  a 
small  annual  sum,  devoted  to  room  rent,  pay  of  models,  etc.,  the  pupils 
study  together  from  models  in  a common  atelier.  The  master  comes  in 
twice  a week,  and  criticises  the  work  gratuitously.  But  the  advantages 
he  gains  are  obviously  sufficient  compensation ; for  he  impresses  his  per. 
sonal  influence  and  genius  on  his  pupils,  who  become  his  enthusiastic  ad- 


FRENCH  ART  STUDENTS.  73 

mirers  and  disciples,  and  fight  his  battles,  and  spread  his  reputation  far 
and  wide. 

These  French  art  students  are  a curious  medley  of  seemingly  discord- 
ant elements.  Often  endowed  with  intense  art  enthusiasm  and  wonderful 
art  ability,  their  conversation  in  the  atelier  is,  on  the  other  hand,  anything 
but  intellectual — brutal  and  disgusting  to  a degree  that  would  lead  one 
to  consider  them  convicts  of  the  galleys ; while  their  manners,  notwith- 
standing many  of  them  are  men  of  mature  years,  are  too  much  in  keep- 
ing wdth  their  language.  A young  American  at  the  Ecole  des  Beaux 
Arts  refused  to  submit  to  their  insulting  demands.  They  set  upon  him 
en  masse^  wfithout  any  of  that  sense  of  honor  which  induces  an  English 
boy  to  see  that  fair  play  is  allowed,  and  kicked  him  in  the  face  as  well 
as  the  body,  producing  severe  injuries. 

One  day,  in  the  studio  of  Bonnat,  during  an  interval  of  leisure,  a 
French  student  exclaimed,  out  of  mere  deviltry,  ^‘Let  us  turn  out  all 
Americans  and  foreigners  — yes,  and  all  Prussians,”  looking  towards  an 
Alsatian.  Up  sprung  the  Alsatian  with  tiger -like  fury,  and  rushed  at 
the  Frenchman,  and,  although  much  his  inferior  in  size,  seized  him 
by  the  throat,  and  shook  him  like  a dog,  while  he  roared,  “ Call  me  a 
Prussian  again,  you  villain ! and  I swear  to  God  I’ll  kill  you ! I’ll  kill 
you  !”  White  as  a sheet,  the  Frenchman  sat  down  to  his  easel  again,  and 
nothing  more  w^as  said  on  that  day  about  expelling  Americans  and  Prus- 
sians. It  is  w^ell  known  that  Paul  Delaroche,  a man  of  amiable  disposi- 
tion, closed  his  school  and  went  off  to  Pome  in  sorrow  and  disgust,  after 
a young  artist  had  been  'killed  in  it  by  his  fellow-pupils.  And  yet  these 
untamed  and  untamable  art  students  astonish  one  by  their  extraordinary 
perception  of  form  and  polor. 

There  are  also  four  art  clubs  in  Paris,  sustained  by  artists  and  con- 
noisseurs, not  in  any  sense  rival  societies,  but  intended  for  the  encour- 
agement of  art  and  for  the  sale  of  paintings  in  the  annual  exliibitions. 
Tlie  Cercle  de  I’TInion  Artisti(pie  numbers  six  hundred  memhers.  It 
holds  its  exliibitions  and  lectures  in  a spacious  hall,  Xo.  18  Place  Ven- 
dbme,  in  February  and  March.  The  exhibitions  are  choice,  and  present 
a very  fair  idea  of  the  high-water  mark  reached  by  contem[)orarv  art  in 
France  from  year  to  year.  Admission  is  free  to  visitors  on  a])plicatiou 
to  the  secretary  or  through  members.  The  Societe  des  Amis  des  Beaux 
Arts  de  Paris  contains  among  its  members  such  well-known  connois- 


74 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


seurs  as  Baron  Eothscliild  and  Sir  Bi chard  Wallace.  An  entrance  fee  of 
one  franc  is  required.  The  Cercle  Artistiqne  et  Litteraire  has  its  head- 
quarters at  Bo.  29  Kne  Chaussee  d’Antin  : as  indicated  by  its  name,  it 
is  partially  literary.  Its  gallery  is  open  daily,  and  contains  a collection 
of  paintings,  sculptures,  and  engravings.  Another  association  has  also 
been  formed  within  a year,  called  the  Societe  de  I’Union  des  Artistes.” 


HUNTING  WITH  FALCONS  IN  ALGERIA. FROMENTIN. 


It  has  the  laudable  aim  of  ignoring  all  schools  and  cliques,  and  admitting 
to  exhibition  the  works  of  all  artists  who  are  inspired  by  a genuine  en- 
thusiasm for  progress  in  art. 

The  number  of  art  publications  is  large  and  generally  of  great  value, 
written  by  men  of  art  culture  and  intellectual  grasp,  who  command  our 
respect,  if  they  do  not  always  win  our  assent.  We  need  only  mention 


ART  CRITICS. 


75 


such  writers  as  Taine,  Fromentin,  Etex,  Petroz,  and  Gautier  (who  is  hut 
recently  dead).  The  art  periodicals  are  also  of  a very  high  quality. 
L’’Art  yields  the  precedence  to  no  similar  publication  in  any  country. 

Having  glanced  at  the  methods  adopted  in  France  for  the  growth 
and  patronage  of  national  art,  we  naturally  come  next  to  a consideration 


GIPSY  GIUL. LECOMPTK. 

of  the  results  or  the  condition  and  quality  of  contemporary  art  in  France. 
It  may  be  assumed  that  between  1853  and  18()0  the  literature  and  art 
of  France  yielded  to  the  seductive  but  demoralizing  intlueuces  of  the 
late  Empire,  and  passed  through  a crisis  from  Avhich  neither  has  yet 
recovered,  and  from  that  }>eriod  we  may  date  the  rise  of  the  present 
school  of  French  art.  The  difference  is  discernible  in  a loss  of  moral 


76 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


power,  in  the  lower  character  of  the  subjects  selected,  in  less  intellectual 
force,  less  pursuit  of  the  ideal,  and  consequently  feebler  imagination, 
always,  he  it  clearly  understood,  with  some  notable  exceptions,  to  be 
hereinafter  mentioned. 

But  these  declensions  in  character  have  not  been  accompanied  by  a 
corresponding  loss  of  an  eye  for  color,  perception  of  external  beauty,  or 
technical  excellencies.  In  these  respects  the  French  School  never  stood 
higher,  and  still  holds  the  first  place  in  modern  art.  An  able  writer  on 
art  has  said,  “Art  is  the  attempt  to  represent  the  invisible  by  the  vis- 
ible.” This  is  exactly  what  the  French  artists  of  to-day,  however,  do 
not  attempt.  To  be  sure,  there  is  much  talk  about  the  ideal  among 
them ; but  what  they  really  practise  is  to  accept  the  hard  fact  that  art 
expression  has  its  limitations  — very  narrow  limits  too  they  are,  if  one 
chooses  to  make  them  so — and  they  are  only  to  endeavor  to  do  what  can 
be  easily  done  within  those  limits ; in  other  words,  they  are  content  with 
the  exterior  of  things,  and  seek  not  to  express  what  those  objects  sug- 
gest. They  are  satisfied  with  the  physical  body,  and  do  not  strive  to 
express  the  soul  it  contains.  Physical  beauty,  for  itself  alone,  without 
regard  to  its  moral  relations,  is  the  highest  end  the  modern  French  artist 
is  required  to  hold  before  him.  The  leading  art  critic,  M.  Taine,  enun- 
ciates this  as  the  great  art  principle,  and  urges  it  against  the  English 
and  the  Germans  that  they  allow  themselves  to  be  biassed  in  the  choice 
of  subject  by  the  strong  moral  feeling  of  the  Germanic  races,  which  the 
French  do  not  hesitate  among  themselves  to  sneer  at  as  hypocrisy.  Each 
kind  has  merits  entirely  its  own,  liowever,  and  to  condemn  one  because  it 
is  not  the  other  is  manifestly  absurd.  The  greatest  school  of  art  would 
naturally  be  that  which  combined  both ; the  world  has  seen  some  masters 
who  have  nearly  blended  the  two,  but  no  school.  However,  the  present 
German  School  gives  promise  of  approaching  this  supreme  end  of  art 
in  time.  As  things  are  now,  and  always  have  been  in  the  domain  of 
art,  M.  Taine  most  probably  is  in  the  right  up  to  a certain  point ; but 
he  becomes  a false  guide  when  he  goes  beyond  that  limit.  Art  is  in  a 
greater  degree  than  literature  sensuous,  a matter  appertaining  to  sight, 
or  to  an  eye  for  color  and  form,  to  mechanical  processes,  and  sometimes 
to  geometrical  precision,  and  is  therefore  apparently  rather  more  a ques- 
tion of  physical  than  of  moral  beauty.  But  if,  as  is  the  case  too  often 
now,  French  art  gives  us  so  many  works  whose  moral  tendency  is  cor- 


CHARACTER  OF  FRENCH  ART.  77 

nipting,  the  artist  is  not  more  to  blame  than  the  great  public  which 
creates  that  system  of  influences  and  opinions  which  shapes  his  charac- 
ter. French  art  to-day  is  probably  the  flrst  still  in  the  world  as  art; 
while  it  is  just  as  true  that  it  is  flrst  in  paintings  of  lewd  scenes,  mur- 
ders, and  bloodshed.  Therefore  the  contemporary  French  School,  able  as 
it  is,  leaves  the  iny^ression  of  declension  from  the  rank  it  held  when  rep- 
resented by  some  of  the  great  masters,  either  dead,  or  who,  if  still  living, 
formed  their  style  long  ago,  and  gave  it  such  influence  and  repute  at 
home  and  abroad.  Contemporary  French  artists  are  too  often  content 
with  an  art  that  places  its  standard  low,  although  in  its  way  almost  be- 
yond competition.  It  is  an  art  perfect  of  its  kind,  but  of  not  so  high  a 
character  as  the  art  of  Kaphael  or  Yelasquez,  Fubens  or  Kembrandt. 


Nothing  so  clearly  indicates  the  imaginative  quality  of  an  artist  as 
the  value  he  places  on  the  power  of  light  and  shade,  or  chiaro-oscuro^ 
in  the  suggestion  of  the  ideal.  It  is  a point  often  nearly  ignored  by  the 
earlier  artists,  while  great  use  is  made  of  it,  and  with  immense  eftect,  by 
most  of  the  masters  of  the  great  Renaissance  movement  in  Italy  and  the 
Netherlands,  and  it  is  well  understood  by  such  modern  artists  as  Dela- 
croix. Dore,  who,  if  inferior  in  some  respects  to  many  of  his  contem- 
poraries, undoubtedly  possesses  the  most  remarkable  imagination  granted 
to  an  artist  in  modern  times,  produces  extraordinary  effects  with  chiaro- 
oHcuro.  Rut  otherwise  it  is  not  a distinguishing  trait  in  the  works  of 
conteni})()]-ary  French  ])ainters.  ^lany  of  them  seem,  in  fact,  rather  to 


78 


CONTEMPOEARY  ART  IN  EUROPE, 


disapprove  of  it  as  chw^  or  reacliing  after  effects  by  illegitimate  means. 
The  reason,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  more  likely  poverty  of  fancy. 

In  the  technical  or  mechanical  part  of  art  there  is  mnch  divergence 
among  the  leading  artists  of  the  French  School.  Each  has  his  own 
theory  and  practice,  and  so  it  will  continue  to  be  the  case  as  long  as 
there  are  artists  to  paint  and  things  to  rej^resent  in  art  forms.  There 
are  as  many  French  styles  of  art  in  Paris  to-day  as  there  are  artists  of 
original  capacity,  each  of  whom  has  a large  following  of  imitators.  There 
are  the  styles  of  Gerome,  of  Meissonier,  of  Bonnat,  of  Daubigny,  of  Corot, 
of  Ziem,  all  sufficiently  unlike  and  independent.  There  surely  is  no  re- 
semblance in  either  subject  or  color  between  the  cool,  monotonous,  mono- 
chromatic canvases  of  Corot  and  the  superb  Mediterranean  effects  of  Ziem. 
But  what,  then,  is  the  French  School  of  which  so  much  is  said?  There 
must  be  some  distinctive  trait  which  makes  the  French  School  excel- 
lence. The  French  School  of  contemporary  art  is,  then,  first  of  all,  true 
to  national  characteristics.  Another  reason  for  its  strength  and  for  the 
repute  it  enjoys  at  present  is,  that  to  enormous  wmrk  and  conscientious 
study  of  nature  as  they  see  it,  French  artists  add  a natural  eye  for  color 
superior  to  that  of  most  German  and  English  painters ; who,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  often  equal  to  them,  sometimes  superior,  in  drawing  and  com- 
position. But  the  final  and  most  important  cause  of  the  high  value  set 
on  French  art  of  to-day  is  undoubtedly  the  mode  of  treatment^  including 
what  is  purely  mechanical  in  art.  Breadth  is  a quality  that  is  now  found 
most  prominent  in  French  painting.  Even  the  works  of  Meissonier,  so 
minutely  finished,  possess  this  characteristic  in  a marked  degree,  a trait 
which  rendered  the  paintings  of  Turner  so  original,  and  for  a while  so 
incomprehensible,  in  England. 

A school  of  art  in  its  early  stages,  or  an  artist  when  commencing  his 
studies,  needs  to  draw  and  paint  with  pre-Eaphaelite  fidelity  of  detail. 
It  is  thus  that  a masterful  knowledge  of  nature  is  gained,  which  gradually 
enables  genius  combined  with  experience  to  discriminate  what  is  valuable 
and  what  is  of  secondary  importance  in  a given  subject  or  for  a given 
conception,  and,  seizing  only  the  more  salient  and  characteristic  traits  or 
colors,  as  they  appear  to  the  artist,  to  combine  them  in  an  effective  and 
suggestive  w^liole.  But  ages  of  laborious  feeling  over  an  obscure  pathway 
must  often  precede  the  epoch  when  the  art  of  a nation  reaches  the  broad 
style  of  treatment ; and  years  of  patient,  unremitting  study  of  nature  in 


ART  METHODS, 


79 


all  her  details  must  first  develop  in  the  artist  that  power  which  enables 
him  to  express  his  thoughts  in  a handwriting  of  his  own,  to  paint  with 
that  breadth  in  the  rejection  of  the  unimportant  and  the  vivid  delineation 
of  the  soul  of  things,  which  is  the  almost  universal  characteristic  of  con- 


L A KDKTTE . ,M  E 1 SSON 1 E K. 


temporary  Frencli  art.  But,  after  all,  the  (piestioii  depends  more  upon 
men  than  methods.  Individuality  of  style  is  one  of  the  most  ])reeious 
(pialities  to  he  sought  in  all  true  art,  while  servile  imitation  even  of  the 
greatest  masters  cannot  he  too  severely  condemned,  for  in  it  lies  the  grave 


80 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


of  all  real  individual  or  national  art  progress ; and  art  at  best  is  only  tenta- 
tive so  far  as  processes  are  concerned. 

The  use  of  fusin  or  charcoal  is  an  art  in  which  the  French  may  be 
said  to  have  established  a specialty.  A.  Allonge  is  well  known  abroad  for 
tlie  exquisite  effects  he  often  reaches  with  this  simple  means ; but  some- 
times he  falls  into  monotony  and  mere  prettiness.  Maxime  Lalanne  is 
another  master  in  this  style,  who  seems  to  show  more  vigor  and  breadth, 
although  it  may  seem  hypercriticism  to  discriminate  between  two  excel- 
lent artists  so  evenly  balanced  in  ability.  The  former  prefers  paper  of 
fine  grain ; the  latter  confines  himself  exclusively  to  large-grained  paper. 


GUSTAVE  DORE. 


In  engraving,  the  highest  place  cannot  at  present  be  assigned  to  the 
French,  except  in  etching,  in  which  they  excel.  Fajon,  Unger,  and  Fla- 
meng  may  be  mentioned  as  leaders  in  this  style  of  art,  while  Jacquemart 
is  nearly  unapproachable  as  an  etcher  of  still-life.  In  wood-engraving 
the  French  are  certainly  equalled,  if  not  surpassed,  by  some  of  our  own 
engravers,  while  in  designing  illustrations  they  yield  the  precedence  to 
the  English,  and  to  some  of  our  own  designers.  Gavarni,  who  was  a 
remarkable  delineator  of  the  scenes  of  every-day  life  in  Paris,  died  last 
year.  Gustave  Dore,  who  perhaps  holds  the  foremost  rank  for  a certain 
class  of  illustrations,  stands  so  entirely  by  himself  that  he  forms  a distinct 
school  so  different  in  scope  and  treatment  from  anything  of  the  sort  ever 
before  seen  in  France  that  he  can  hardly  be  classed  under  the  head  of 
French  art.  lie  is  by  extraction  from  Alsace  (a  province  which  has  fur- 


GUSTAVE  DOR]g. 


81 


nislied  many  of  the  most  prominent  artists  of  France),  and  is  now  about 
forty-five  years  of  age.  He  differs  in  three  important  respects  from  his 
leading  French  contemporaries  in  art:  lie  lays  great  stress  on  light  and 
shade ; has  but  little  notion  of  color,  although  improving  in  that  respect 
by  practice ; and  he  is  a great  moralist. 


PEACE. — DOUE. 

With  US  Dore  is  better  known  as  a designer  on  wood,  an  illustrator 
with  an  imagination  grotesque  and  ])rolific  beyond  all  precedent.  But  of 
late  years  he  has  given  his  attention  to  painting,  and  more  recently  to 
sculpture,  and  from  time  to  time  exhibits  large  landscapes,  or  figure-sub- 
jects of  life  size.  To  criticise  these  paintings,  to  dissect  them  until  noth- 
ing is  left,  to  show  that  the  drawing  is  often  defective,  the  coloring  often 

G 


82 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


unnatural,  would  be  an  easy  task.  But  it  is  not  so  easy  to  explain  away 
the  profound  impression  they  produce,  or  the  conviction  they  give  us  that 
here  is  a mind  standing  alone  in  Paris — a mind  Teutonic  rather  than 
French  in  its  character,  looking  not  so  much  on  the  surface  of  things  as 
at  what  is  hidden  underneath,  studying  the  moral  of  life;  a French  Albert 
Diirer,  to  whom  existence  is  less  a comedy  than  a tragedy.  He  seems  to 
us  in  Paris  like  Jonah  crying,  “Yet  forty  days  and  Hineveh  shall  be  over- 
thrown,” or  like  John  Knox  sternly  admonishing  Mary  Queen  of  Scots 
and  her  licentious  court  of  a retribution  hereafter.  Dore  is  the  only  man 
in  Paris  who  selects  subjects  with  a moral,  as  do  the  English  and  German 
artists.  In  the  later  phases  of  his  genius  he  may  be  also  called  the  Ho- 
garth of  France.  "VYhat  could  be  more  like  a satire  of  Juvenal,  written 
with  a pen  dipped  in  gall,  than  in  Paris,  where  the  fallen  woman  has  been 
occasionally  admitted  to  the  best  circles  on  a footing  with  virtue  (as,  for 
example,  at  the  receptions  of  M.  Arsene  Houssaye,  attended  by  the  princes 
of  the  blood) ; the  heroine,  too,  of  the  most  prominent  literary  produc- 
tions of  the  day  in  France ; anything  but  a poor,  forlorn,  desolate  thing 
of  shame,  whose  end  no  one  should  think  of  but  with  profound  pity  and 
sorrow — what  could  be  more  tremendous  in  its  irony  than  here,  in  Paris, 
to  paint  a woman  of  that  class,  with  sunken  cheeks  and  forsaken,  dying 
on  a cold  winter  night  on  a stone  bench,  under  the  stars  so  far  away  and 
dim,  with  her  chubby  infant  vainly  seeking  milk  at  her  breast,  and  to  call 
her  La  Pecheresse?  Ko  wonder  Charivari  suggests  that  M.  Hore  is  rather 
lugubrious  in  the  choice  of  his  subjects.  Very  impressive,  also,  are  such 
wonderful  compositions  as  his  “ Martyrs  in  the  Coliseum,”  “ The  Dream 
of  Pilate’s  Wife,”  “Christ  leaving  the  Prsetorium,”  “Christ  entering  the 
Temple,”  and  numerous  other  paintings,  in  which  are  grouped  scores  of 
figures  the  size  of  life.  The  imagination  displayed,  the  massing  of  chiaro- 
osGitro^  the  rush  and  movement  and  grouping  of  vast  multitudes,  and  the 
moral  impressiveness  of  the  ideas  conveyed,  are  certainly  indicative  of  im- 
mense reserve  power.  But  the  drawing  is  often  defective ; very  natu- 
rally there  is,  with  enormous  variety,  much  mannerism ; and  it  must  be 
admitted  that  these  paintings  would,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  appear 
quite  as  effective  in  black  and  white.  His  “ Keophyte,”  for  example,  ex- 
ecuted in  monochrome,  does  not  seem  to  require  the  aid  of  color  to  make 
it  what  it  is — one  of  the  most  tremendous  invectives  against  the  convent- 
ual system  which  has  been  seen  since  the  days  of  Savonarola. 


FRENCH  MARINE  PAINTERS. 


83 


It  is,  then,  to  the  colorists  that  we  must  tnrn  in  order  to  learn  what 
is  really  and  distinctively  the  best  in  the  French  art  of  our  day.  The 
French  School  has  become  justly  celebrated  for  its  treatment  of  external 
nature,  with  the  exception  of  marine  art.  Isabey  seems  to  be  the  only 
Frenchman  who  ever  painted  a marine  worth  looking  at  a second  time, 
and  he  is  now  very  old ; but  he  is  a magnificent  colorist,  and  did  some 
very  nice  things  long  ago.  The  remainder,  Jules  Dupre  (who  is,  however, 
a good  landscape-painter),  Yernier,  etc.,  know  nothing  either  of  ships  or 
the  sea — at  least,  there  is  little  in  their  paintings  to  lead  one  to  think  they 


RETURN  OF  THE  FLOCK. JACQUES. 


do — while  they  all  perpetrate  in  them  the  simplest  errors  in  perspective, 
such  as  one  would  look  for  in  vain  in  their  poorest  landscapes.  Yot  to 
make  too  bad  a joke  of  their  awkwardness,  they  are  all,  indeed,  entirely 
^‘at  sea”  on  the  subject.  But  in  landscape  the  French  artist  is  at  home; 
and  here,  amidst  pastoral  scenes  or  representations  of  Oriental  etfects,  we 
find  a great  school  of  poetry  that  reminds  us  alternately  of  Theocritus,  or 
the  Bucolics  of  Virgil,  or  the  third  and  fourth  cantos  of  '“‘(diilde  Harold." 
In  landscape-painting  lies  the  tnie  field  of  French  poetry,  the  al.iseiu'e  of 
which  amidst  many  vapid  alexandrines  is  a])parent  to  those  who  do  not 
prefei’,  with  M.  Taine,  the  })oeins  of  I)e  Musset  to  ‘On  Aremoriam  ” and 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


Stt 

“ Guinevere.”  Is'ot withstanding  Claude  and  the  Dutch  painters  of  two 
centuries  ago,  landscape-painting,  or  genre  with  landscape,  is  essentially  a 
modern  art,  springing  up  in  sympathy  with  the  poetry  of  Bernardin  de 
St.  Pierre,  Burns,  and  Wordsworth;  and  while  across  the  Channel  this 
sympathy  with  nature  and  humble  life  found  its  best  exj>ression  in  poetry 
of  the  most  exquisite  character,  in  France  it  has  been  interpreted  by  her 
landscape-painters.  Poets  they  truly  are,  purely  and  entirely  devoted  to 
nature,  hnding  in  her  their  greatest  pleasure  and  reward ; and  this,  both 
in  their  lives  and  works.  Jacques,  of  sheep-painters  the  first,  and  almost 
as  great  in  landscape,  leads  us  among  the  russet  hollows  and  the  rude 
folds  of  Brittany,  teacliing  us  the  poetry  there  is  in  humble  things.  Mil- 
let, in  his  blouse  and  sabots,  always  preferred  his  retreat  at  Barbizon. 
What  wondrous  sympathy  with  the  various  aspects  of  nature  is  evident 
in  every  canvas  of  Troyon,  who  seems  the  peer  of  the  greatest,  if  not  the 
first  poet  of  rustic  nature  France  has  produced ! 

Then  there  was  Chintreuil,  who  died  in  1875.  He  began  life  as  a 
bookseller’s  clerk  in  a provincial  town,  and  stole  away  into  an  attic  to 
make  his  first  attempts  in  art.  Here  he  was  discovered  by  the  son  of  his 
employer,  who  urged  him  to  continue  in  the  pursuit  for  which  he  was 
Ijorn.  But  youth  passed  by,  manhood  and  middle-age  came  and  went,  and 
still  this  real  poet  toiled  on  unrecognized  except  by  his  life-long  friend, 
Desbrosses,  who  never  lost  faith  in  his  genius  or  hope  of  his  ultimate 
success.  At  last,  as  this  true  hero,  in  unfaltering  devotion  to  nature  and 
unswerving  confidence  in  his  own  powers — one  of  the  infallible  signs  of 
greatness  when  combined  with  humility — approached  the  grave,  and  his 
own  lingering  footsteps  began  to  cast  those  long  shadows  he  had  so  often 
delighted  to  paint,  the  world  of  art  began  to  award  him  the  fame  he  de- 
served and  should  have  received  thirty  years  earlier.  Chintreuil  has  been 
called  ‘‘  the  poet  of  the  dews  and  the  mists.”  There  was  great  inequality 
in  his  works,  but  in  his  best  things  he  resembled  Turner,  although  entirely 
original.  He  excelled  in  atmospheric  effects.  The  solemn  lights  of  twi- 
light, the  impressive  glory  of  sunset,  robing  ranks  of  forest  trees  in  regal 
splendor  and  throwing  exquisite  puiq^le  gloom  over  the  foreground  slopes, 
the  breaking-up  and  scattering  of  the  vapors  of  early  morning  before  the 
coming  dawn,  the  sudden  dash  of  rain  with  an  angry  gust  over  a gray 
sea — in  effects  like  these  Chintreuil  revelled  with  Turner,  and  sometimes 
approached  the  excellences  of  that  greatest  of  English  painters. 


FRENCH  LANDSCAPE  PAINTERS, 


85 


Lambinet,  the  two  Daubignys  (father  and  son),  Lansyer,  Bernier,  Har- 
pignies,  and  others  we  miglit  mention,  are  men  of  great  ability.  Dau- 
hignj  pere,  for  a certain  massiveness  of  handling  and  justness  in  render- 
ing the  values,  stands  alone.  Lansyer  is  prominent  not  only  for  style,  but 
for  great  versatility  of  subject,  treating  every  variety  of  scenery ; while 


PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  PRIM. REGNAULT. 


Ilarpignies,  although  not  destitute  of  a certain  stiffness  or  lack  of  mechan- 
ical freedom  in  his  handling,  still  renders  the  grander  effects  of  nature 
with  majesty.  But  the  three  most  original,  we  are  inclined  also  to  think 
the  three  greatest,  landscape-painters  France  has  thus  far  ])i*oduced  are,  or 
were,  Claude  Lorraine,  Thomas  Bousseau,  and  flean  Baptiste  Camille  Co- 
rot, each  entirely  clitferent  in  every  respect,  e.\ce})tiiig  that  tliiw  were 
agreed  in  looking  at  nature  not  only  for  what  she  seems  to  the  visual  eye, 
but  still  more  for  what  she  suggests  to  the  soul.  They  were  men  eii- 


86 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


dowed  not  only  with  exquisite  keenness  of  vision  in  detecting  the  har- 
monies of  the  visible  world,  delicate  perception  of  chromatic  effects  and 
technical  ability,  but  they  were  also  men  of  thought,  of  imagination,  of 
vast  poetic  feeling.  But  they  are  dead.  Claude  came  alone,  and  left  no 
successors  behind  him  for  a century  and  a half,  while  the  two  latter  may 
also  be  said  to  have  left  none  after  them  their  peers  in  pure  landscape. 

Kousseau,  who  has  now  been  dead  over  fifteen  years,  undoubtedly 
made  a very  careful  study  of  Buysdael  and  Cuyp,  and  is  indebted  to  them 
for  some  of  his  technical  processes,  while  having  a native  genius  equal  to 
the  development  of  a remarkable  style  of  his  own.  But  Corot  left  Paris 
for  the  other  world  only  two  years  ago,  and  the  influence  of  his  art,  a mat- 
ter of  slow  growth,  increasing  up  to  the  last,  is  destined  to  be  long  a power 
in  the  studio.  In  originality  of  mind,  and  force,  purity,  and  individuality 
of  aim  and  character,  he  seems  to  be  the  most  considerable  figure  that  has 
appeared  in  the  art  world  of  France  during  this  century.  The  life  of 
Corot  was  almost  the  life  of  the  ideal  artist.  It  has  been  said  that  he  was 
poor  and  neglected  for  many  years.  This  is  only  measurably  true.  He 
was  born  in  affluent  circumstances,  and  was  destined  to  carry  on  his  fa- 
ther’s business.  But  the  irresistible  impulses  of  his  genius  led  him  to 
painting  instead,  and  his  father  then  reduced  the  artist’s  income  to  4000 
francs  — equal,  at  least,  to  twice  that  sum  now.  But  on  his  father’s 
death  Corot  inherited  a fortune  with  an  income  very  considerable  in 
France.  It  is  true  that  for  many  years  the  fact  that  a new  genius  in 
landscape-painting  had  appeared  was  recognized  by  but  few.  But  twenty- 
live  years  of  succeeding  triumph  amply  atoned  for  early  neglect,  and  ren- 
dered his  life,  on  the  whole,  as  perfect  as  an  artist  can  expect,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  domestic  happiness,  for  which  he  seems  not  to  have  cared.  It 
is  said  that  one  of  his  paintings  was  so  badly  hung  at  the  Salon  in  1851 
that  no  one  looked  at  it.  Finally,  out  of  pity  for  the  offspring  of  his 
brain,  Corot  went  and  stood  before  it,  saying,  “ Men  are  like  flies ; if  one 
alights  on  a dish,  others  will  follow.”  And,  indeed,  a young  man  and 
woman  soon  came  up  and  began  to  examine  the  picture.  “ It  is  not 
bad ; there  is  something  in  it,”  said  the  man.  But  she,  pulling  him  by 
the  sleeve  said,  It  is  horrid  ; let  us  go  !”  Well,  this  painting,  after  being 
kept  in  the  artist’s  studio  several  years,  was  sold  for  700  francs,  and  still 
later  brought  12,000  francs  at  auction,  and  the  purchaser  was  so  pleased 
with  his  bargain  that  he  gave  a dinner  in  celebration  of  the  event ! 


LIFE  AND  MAXIMS  OF  COROT, 


87 


Corot’s  income  for  several  years  averaged  200,000  francs  from  liis  pro- 
fession alone;  and  as  lie  never  was  married,  and  was  a man  of  warm  and 
generous  instincts,  lie  gave  much  away : many  a poor  artist  or  artist’s 
family  has  occasion  to  bless  the  memory  of  Pere  Corot.  lie  was  twice 
decorated,  first  as  chevalier,  then  as  commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
but  he  never  was  able  to  wrest  the  grand  medal  from  the  jurors  of  the 
annual  exhibition — a striking  instance  of  the  caprice  of  Fortune.  How- 
ever, a splendid  gold  medal  was  presented  to  him  by  friends,  a short  time 
before  his  death.  He  was  by  birtli  a Parisian,  and  his  tastes  were  for 
nature  as  she  presents  herself  to  those  who  wander  into  the  suburbs  in 
the  early  morning  or  towards  even-tide.  And  this  was  one  secret  of  his 
success : he  painted  scenes  with  which  his  audience  were  most  familiar, 
the  quiet,  russet,  monotonous,  oft-recurring  bits  of  landscape  in  the  north 
of  France,  and  especially  around  Paris.  Simple  they  seem,  but  they  are 
really  simple  only  because  his  genius  was  in  harmony  witli  them  ; to 
others  they  might  be  difficult.  Every  artist  must  first  of  all  be  true  to 
himself,  whether  his  tastes  are  of  the  past  or  the  present,  in  sjunpathy 
with  what  the  people  like  best  or  otherwise;  and  nothing  is  more  preju- 
dicial to  good  and  true  art,  or  more  cruel  to  individual  minds,  than  the 
prescription  of  a limited  class  of  subjects  such  as  have  been  the  choice  of 
certain  great  masters.  We  find  no  limitation  of  this  sort  in  French  land- 
scape art.  The  reason  why  the  so-called  ^‘simple”  French  landscapes  are 
painted  so  generally  by  Frenchmen  is  that  they  paint  what  they  know 
and  love  best. 

Some  of  the  maxims  of  Corot  give  us  a key  to  his  methods  and 
principles  of  art  work,  and  are  of  universal  application.  “ Tlie  artist 
requires,  in  the  pursuit  of  art,  conscientiousness,  confidence  in  himself, 
and  perseverance ; beihg  thus  equipped,  the  two  essentials  of  tlie  last 
importance  to  him  are  the  most  careful  study  of  drawing  and  the 
values.”  Another  saying  of  his  was,  “ Above  all,  be  true  to  your 
own  instincts,  to  your  own  method  of  seeing ; this  is  what  I call  con- 
scientiousness and  sincerity.”  At  another  time  he  said,  “ Place  your- 
self face  to  face  with  nature,  and  seek  to  render  it  with  precision  ; 
paint  what  you  see,  and  interpret  the  impression  received.”  Ills  last 
works  received  their  signature  on  his  death -bed,  and  his  last  words, 
as  liis  liand  moved  against  the  wall  with  pressed  fingers,  as  if  he  were 
painting,  were,  Look  how  beautiful  it  is  ! I have  never  seen  such 


88 


CONTEMPORAEY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


lovely  landscapes !”  and  he  died  an  hour  before  midnight,  February 
ITth,  1875. 

The  grand  aim  of  the  art  of  Corot  was  to  harmonize  manner  or  treat- 
ment, with  the  love  of  nature,  or,  like  Turner,  whom  he  resembled  in 
this  respect,  with  material  substances  to  convey  the  impression  made  on 
a poetic  mind  by  the  aspects  of  nature — by  the  real  to  express  the  ideal, 
by  the  objective  to  translate  the  subjective.  Ilis  methods  and  style  are 
still,  and  always  will  be,  a matter  of  difference  and  discussion  ; but  no 
one  any  longer  disputes  the  influence  of  his  genius  as  an  idealist  with- 
standing the  materialistic  tendencies  of  the  age,  and  drawing  his  inspira- 
tions from  the  eternal  sources  of  nature.  So  far  as  foreign  influences 
are  perceptible  in  the  w^orks  of  Corot,  they  are  classical  and  Italian,  but 
never  more  than  faintly  discernible.  'Nov  did  he  conflne  himself  to  land- 
scape : he  painted  numerous  flgure-pieces,  including  some  large  canvases 
representing  sacred  subjects,  like  his  “ Flight  into  Egypt,”  and  the  Bap- 
tism of  Christ.”  But  his  reputation  is  founded  chiefly  on  his  landscapes. 


PLOUGHING  IN  THE  NIVERNAIS. BONHEUR. 


of  whicli  he  proclnced  an  immense  mimher,  at  first  siglit  in  one  key, 
although  renewed  observation  discovers  a distinct  idea  and  individual 
beauty*  in  each  scene.  He  most  affected  the  sober  harmonies  of  dawn 
or  twilight.  When  the  most  has  been  said  in  Corot’s  favor,  it  must  be 
conceded  that  he  was  great  as  an  artist  more  for  what  he  attempted  than 
for  what  he  achieved.  But  is  not  this  the  highest  praise  that  can  be 
awarded  to  the  faithful  worker  in  this  imperfect  existence  of  ours? 


STYLE  OF  COROT. 


89 


That  there  is  great  sameness  in  the  canvases  of  Corot  it  is  idle  to 
deny.  Like  Paganini,  he  performed  on  an  instrument  with  only  one 
chord ; but  Paganini  played  many  tunes  on  that  one  string,  while  Corot 


ROSA  RONIIEUR. 


played  only  one ; still,  he  rendered  that  single  tune  sometimes  with  vi- 
brations that  thrilled  the  soul.  He  evoked,  as  only  genius  can,  that  eerie, 
mysterious  feeling  which  many  experience  but  cannot  express,  in  ob- 
serving the  subtler  effects  of  nature,  and  sometimes  almost  seemed  to 
seize  the  ‘^vagrant  melodies”  which  quiver  through  the  aspen  boughs  in 
the  dawn  of  May,  or  speed  the  loitering  march  of  the  wandering  clouds 
on  a day  in  June.  But  only  those  of  his  admirers  wlio  belong  to  the  ser- 
vile class  are  ready  to  accept  everything  that  Corot  painted  as  worthy  of 
his  reputation,  or  as  qualified  to  advance  art.  Howhere  is  this  fact  bet- 
ter recognized  than  in  Paris  itself.  The  following,  from  a French  paper 
of  good  standing,  only  expresses  the  general  opinion  there,  sometimes 
given  in  stronger  terms : “ Artiste,  Corot  laisse  une  oeuvre  immense, 
dans  laquelle  il  faut  faire  deux  parts : les  tableaux  soigues,  traites  avec 
amour ; les  tableaux  laches,  brosses  a la  hate,  ceux,  en  un  mot,  que  Ton 
appelle  les  Corots  du  commerce.  Les  amateurs  mettent  entre  les  deux 
categories  une  enorme  differeiice.”  It  is  no  secret  that  the  market  is 
flooded  with  spurious  Corots,  which  bear  sufficient  resemblance  to  his 
poorer  works  to  deceive  those  who  are  not  connoisseurs  in  art.  During 
liis  last  illness  the  price  of  Ids  works  went  up  rapidly,  which  gave  rise 
to  a hon-mot.  “Why,”  said  one  to  an  art  dealer,  “do  you  not  buy  the 


90 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


works  of  siicli  a one  as  well?  His  reputation  is  rapidly  increasing.” 
“ My  dear  sir,”  answered  the  other,  “ he  has  a constitution  that  will  sur- 
vive us  all !” 

In  the  held  of  animal -painting  combined  with  landscape,  we  find 
the  French  artists  holding  a position  in  advance  of  anything  that  has 
been  done  since  the  days  when  Paul  Potter  painted  his  famous  bull, 
done  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  If  he  had  not  died  at  twenty-seven, 
he  might  have  produced  work  beyond  the  hope  of  rivalry.  In  the  Eng- 
lish and  German  schools  we  find  individual  cases  of  great  ability  in  the 
rej)resentatioii  of  animal  life;  but  the  French  in  the  last  generation  gave 


CONSTANT  TROYON. 


US  the  school  of  Troyon,  and  the  national  genius  for  this  branch  of  art 
has  not  yet  passed  away.  Who  is  there  that  paints  sheep  better  than 
Jaccpies?  He  is  a native  of  Paris.  So  was  Corot;  and  so  was  Turner 
a native  of  London.  Those  wdio  make  a study  of  human  nature  may 
find  an  interesting  field  for  thought  in  looking  into  the  causes  that,  in 
the  heart  of  a great  city,  far  away  from  green  fields,  produced  three  of 
the  greatest  delineators  of  rural  life  and  scenery  in  modern  times.  De- 
faux,  Chaigneaux,  Schenck,  and  several  others,  are  also  worthily  distin- 
guished in  this  line.  Schenck  was  a wine-merchant  at  Oporto.  He  sold 
out  his  wine-vaults,  came  to  Paris,  and  became  an  artist  of  merit. 


EOSA  BONHEUR. 


91 


Yaii  Marke  and  Mauve  represent  cattle  with  much  vigor,  but  the 
greatest  animal-painter  now  in  France  is  probably  Kosa  Bonheur.  There 


EDOUARD  FREKE. 


is  the  same  intense  observation  and  sympathy  with  nature,  the  same 
vigor  of  treatment,  we  find  in  the  works  of  Troy  on  and  Landseer : more 
refinement  than  in  Troyon,  with  rather  less  of  power,  but  more  power 
than  in  Landseer,  so  far  as  the  representation  of  cattle  is  concerned.  In 
the  painting  of  deer  and  dogs,  the  English  artist  holds  a position  entirely 
alone.  She  was  born  in  1822,  and  belongs  to  a family  of  artists.  Her 
father  is  a painter ; her  brother  (Isidor)  is  a sculptor ; another  brother 
(Auguste)  is  a painter ; and  her  sister  is  married  to  M.  Peyrol,  also  a 
painter.  Ploughing*  in  the  Hivernais,”  now  in  the  Luxembourg  Gal- 
lery, was  her  first  work  of  importance,  and  was  followed,  four  years  later, 
by  her  celebrated  painting  of  a “ Horse  Fair.”  She  is  devoted  to  her 
art,  and,  when  living  in  Paris  in  the  earlier  years  of  her  career,  actually 
kept  a sheep  in  her  rooms  for  a model.  She  is  now  somewhat  older  than 
when  the  portrait  shown  on  page  89  was  taken,  and  her  hair  is  a ])ictu- 
resque  gray.  In  other  respects  she  appears  as  robust  as  ever.  She  habit- 
ually wears  full  male  costume,  donning  a French  working  blouse  when  in 
the  studio,  and  exchanging  it  for  a coat  at  other  times. 

Allied  to  this  branch  of  art  is  the  representation  of  human  life  in 
connection  with  rural  scenes.  Millet  was  formerly  the  greatest  in  that 
line  in  modern  French  art.  Edouard  Frere,  who  is  still  living  at  Ecouen, 


92 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


where  he  founded  what  is  called  the  Sympathetic  School,  simple  and 
pleasing  in  its  treatment  of  humble  life,  followed  on  a lower  range ; and 
a number  might  be  mentioned  who  are  justly  noted  for  success  in  deal- 
ing with  the  picturesque  phases  of  peasant  life.  But  all  the  living  ar- 
tists of  France  must,  in  this  respect,  yield  the  palm  to  Jules  Adolphe 
Breton.  He  is  at  once  a painter  of  landscape  and  of  human  nature. 
The  two  are  harmonized  in  all  his  works  in  such  just  proportion,  and 
with  such  equal  ability  and  care  brought  to  the  representation  of  each, 
that  he  occupies  the  rare  position  of  excelling  in  two  distinct  branches 
of  art ; in  each  he  shows  a deep,  earnest,  reverential  sympathy  in  the 
presence  of  nature ; his  eye  for  color  is  almost  faultless,  and  his  tech- 
nical caj)acity  is  beyond  question.  What  can  be  more  perfect  than  the 
pearly -gray  transparent  shadows  on  the  ground,  or  the  summer  after- 
noon atmosphere,  in  his  “ Blessing  of  the  Grain  f ’ while,  at  the  same 
time,  any  one  of  the  kneeling  figures  in  the  foreground  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  establish  the  reputation  of  any  ordinary  artist  for  its  combina- 
tion of  so  many  admirable  and  desirable  art  qualities.  On  the  other 


hand,  what  a tenderly  pensive  and  pathetic  beauty  he  has  portrayed  in 
the  face  of  the  young  peasant  girl  of  Brittany,  in  his  painting  called 
Evening,”  at  the  Luxembourg ! The  exq3ression  in  her  eyes  seems  to 
tell  a whole  idyl  of  rural  life.  It  is  noteworthy  that  popular  and  artistic 
opinion  is  more  united  in  favor  of  the  merits  of  Jules  Breton  than  upon 
any  other  living  French  painter.  The  Germans  pay  him  the  high  coinpli- 


BRETON— MILLET, 


93 


merit  of  assigning  to  him  the  qualities  of  the  best  German  artists.  In 
hard  times  he  is  the  only  one  who  finds  the  price  of  his  paintings  con- 
stantly rising.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  too  much  to  assign  to  Jules  Breton 
the  leading  place  in  the  contemporary  French  School. 

But  while  Jules  Breton  holds  such  a lofty  rank,  he  stands  rather 
alone,  for  he  represents  a class  of  subjects  that  receives  less  attention 


IITTLE-T ATTLE  (COQUETAGE ). BllETON. 


tlian  formerly  in  France,  and  is  also  generally  considered  to  yield  the 
precedence  to  historical  painting,  or  tlie  art  which  deals  with  the  human 
figure,  pure  and  simple ; and  probably  the  French  would  consider  the 
native  works  now  done  in  that  department  of  art  as  best  representing 
the  present  condition  of  art  in  France.  At  the  outset  it  may  be  observed 
that  Millet,  the  greatest  painter  of  humanity  seen  in  France  for  forty 
years  or  more,  died  last  year.  None  like  him  survive.  To  him  the 
human  body,  with  all  its  exquisite  forms  and  retreating  curves,  delicate 
grays  and  reds,  and  soft,  palpitating  fiesh,  was  but  a casket,  beautiful  in- 
deed, but  enclosing  a still  more  wonderful  and  beautiful  soul  that  sj)eaks 
its  volitions  and  thoughts,  its  emotions  and  sensations,  with  every  move- 
ment of  those  lind)s,  with  every  parting  of  those  lii)s,  and  every  glance 
of  those  eyes,  to  whose  eloquent  and  infinite  radiance  the  opals  of  the 
Ural  or  the  diamonds  of  Golconda  are  but  inert  matter  in  comparison. 


94 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


Snell  was  humanity  to  the  searching,  divining  spirit  of  Millet.  But  he 
is  gone. 

There  are  many  great  artists  still  working  in  France  who  have,  per- 
haps, faculty  equal  to  him  in  detecting  the  physical  beauty  of  humanity, 
and  equal  dexterity  in  interpreting  it  in  art  language  ; but  who  is  there 


JEAN  FRANyOIS  MILLET. 


among  the  specialists  of  this  school  who  sees  the  soul,  or  makes  even 
the  attempt  to  discover  anything  more  than  external  beauty  in  the  lovely 
forms  they  depict  with  such  remarkable  fidelity  ? Lefebvre  has  a paint- 
ing entitled  Truth”  at  the  Luxembourg.  For  drawing  and  coloring 
it  is  quite  marvellous,  and  so  it  was  regarded  at  the  Yienna  Exhibition, 
where  it  carried  away  a first  prize.  But  there  is  really  nothing  in  the 
picture,  or  even  suggested  in  it,»  beyond  the  qualities  noted  above.  We 
see  simply  a nude  woman,  of  life  size  and  faultless  proportions,  holding 
up  a lamp.  If  any  deep  thought  is  suggested,  it  is  not  apparent  in  her 
rather  emotionless  features ; the  idea  in  her  eyes  does  not  seem  to  sug- 
gest truth  so  much  as  something  else.  One  may  look  at  the  painting 
for  hours  without  discovering  in  it  any  special  signs  of  imagination  or  in- 
tellectual power.  It  is  a tour  de  foy^ce^  a marvel  of  technical  dexterity, 
and  that  is  all.  Now,  we  would  not  in  the  slightest  degree  underestimate 
the  value  of  technical  ability  in  art  — quite  the  contrary;  but  a work 
that  has  only  that  to  recommend  it  cannot  be  assigned  a position  by 


CABANEL— BOUGUEREAU. 


95 


tlie  side  of  a Raphael  or  a Murillo  that  has  that  quality,  and  something 
more. 

Cabanel  is  another  artist  who  has  portrayed  some  superb  representa- 
tions of  female  beauty.  His  “Yenus  rising  out  of  the  Sea”  is  a repre- 
sentative work  of  this  class,  but,  like  Gerome,  wdio  has  also  paid  consid- 
erable attention  to  this  species  of  subject,  he  sometimes  condescends  to 
drape  his  studies  of  the  human  form  wdth  clothing  that  renders  them  less 
objectionable  to  popular  contemplation.  Tony  Robert  - Fleury,  Emile 
Levy,  Bonnat,  Chaplin,  Hamon  (who  died  in  1875,  one  of  the  most  orig- 
inal and  poetic  idealists  of  the  age,  moved  by  a delicate  feeling  for  pearly- 
grays) ; Dubuffe,  Carolus  Duran,  brilliant  in  portraiture,  and  Paul  Baudry, 
grandiose  in  style  and  strong  as  a colorist,  may  be  favorably  mentioned 
in  this  connection.  Toulmouche  holds  a high  position  in  the  combina- 
tion of  interiors  with  seductive  delineations  of  the  Parisian  woman  of 
the  time.  Bouguereau  is  a very  prolific  artist  of  classic  tastes,  who  often 
displays  his  love  of  beauty  in  semi-domestic  compositions  rather  more 


ALEXANDRE  CABANEL. 


ideal  than  many  contemporary  French  works,  rich  in  color  and  treatment, 
and  highly  popular.  Merle  sometimes  aims  to  tell  a story,  as  well  as  to 
give  a bit  of  composition  and  coloring.  Leon  Escosura,  a Spaniard  very 
effective,  elaborately  represents  interiors  with  groups  of  other  days,  highly 
colored  and  brilliantly  successful. 

The  classic  subjects  chosen  by  Gerdme  are  characteristic  of  a large 
class  of  paintings  of  the  contemporary  school,  in  which  an  episode  of  his- 


96 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


toiy  is  Taken  as  a tliin  disguise  for  exhibiting  a careful  study  of  the  hu- 
man form  with  accessory  draperies  and  architectural  details,  given  often 
with  extraordinary  resemblance  to  external  nature.  The  Wife  of  Can- 
daules,”  The  Gladiators  bidding  Farewell  to  Caesar,”  and  The  Death 
of  Caesar,”  are  magnificent  canvases.  J.  L.  Gerbme  was  born  at  Yesoul 
in  lS2d.  His  father  was  a goldsmith,  and  the  young  artist  was  therefore 
not  subject  to  the  vicissitudes  of  poverty  common  to  the  artistic  career. 
He  failed  to  win  the  Prix  de  Pome,  but  his  painting  of  the  Cock-fight,” 
exhibited  at  twenty-four,  achieved  a brilliant  triumph  and  a gold  medal ; 
and  Theophile  Gautier,  the  famed  art  critic,  took  him  under  his  wing,  and 


FRANCESCA  DI  RIMINI. CABANEL. 


after  that  the  position  of  the  young  artist  was  secure.  ‘‘Phryne,”  ‘‘Al- 
meh,”  and  Cleopatra  before  Caesar,”  followed  in  rapid  succession.  The 
“ Death  of  Csesar  ” is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  productions  of  Gerome,  sim- 
ple, dramatic,  and  impressive.  He  has  won  all  the  honors  that  France  can 
bestow  upon  an  artist,  and  has  thus  far  found  the  path  of  life  strewed  with 
roses.  Decently  he  has  taken  up  sculpture,  a department  in  which  he  has 
every  reason  to  expect  success,  for  he  is  a draughtsman  rather  than  a col- 
orist, and  excels  in  the  management  of  forms.  His  success  is  doubtless 


TRAITS  OF  CONTEMPORARY  ART. 


97 


due  to  the  same  cause  as  the  success  of  Millais — the  dramatic  element  in 
his  compositions.  On  comparing  the  works  of  Gerome  with  “ La  Deca- 
dence des  Domains, ” hj  Couture,  and  other  paintings  on  similar  subjects 
executed  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  one  sees  almost  at  a glance  what  has 
been  gained  and  lost.  We  find  that  a photographic  adherence  to  nature 
is  now  attempted.  Scarce  a living  French  artist  dares  to  paint  in  the 
manner  of  Michael  Angelo,  or  Dubens,  or  Dembrandt : everything  must 


JEAN  LEON  GEROME. 


be  carefully  arranged  before  the  eye,  and  done  directly  from  nature,  with 
little  assistance  from  the  imagination.  The  consequence  is  that  the  ab- 
surdities of  costume,  the  anachronisms  and  solecisms  wliich  possibly  dis- 
figure the  works  of  Veronese  and  otlier  great  masters  of  the  past,  are  gen- 
erally avoided.  The  drawing  of  the  human  form  is  also  often  rendered 
with  absolute  truth,  and  the  coloring  is  frequently  rich  and  well  harmo- 
nized. But,  on  tlie  other  hand,  the  rendering  of  thought  or  character  in 
the  faces  is  quite  subordinated  to  the  giving  of  forms  and  the  texture  of 
stuffs.  There  is,  also,  sometimes  a hardness,  a lack  of  that  mellowness, 
juiciness,  and  fulness  of  treatment  wliich  is  horn  of  the  rush  and  fervor 
of  a great  inspiration,  and  is  common  to  the  works  of  the  great  masters. 
There  is,  also,  with  the  truth  of  the  photograph,  the  cruelty  of  the  photo- 
graph, which  gives  you  the  truth,  but  not  the  whole  nor  the  best  part  of 
the  truth,  while  the  tacit  undervaluing  of  the  importance  of  light  and 
shade  in  the  representation  of  the  ideal  seems  actually  to  deprive  many  of 
these  paintings  of  atmosphere,  and,  in  spite  of  color  and  texture,  makes 

7 


98 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


tliein  too  nearly  like  linear  drawings.  They  impress  one  like  much  of  the 
playing  of  some  great  violinists  in  public,  done  not  so  much  in  order  to 
give  expression  to  strong  emotions  or  the  great  conceptions  of  a highly 


l’eminence  grise. — gerOme. 


imaginative,  creative  mind,  as  to  display  dexterity  in  the  merely  physical 
and  niannal  department  of  art.  In  a word,  they  “ smell  too  much  of  the 
lamp.” 

The  ablest  living  representative  of  the  archseological  school  is  un- 
doubtedly Lawrence  Alma  Tadema,  who,  although  Dutch  in  origin,  is  Latin 
in  practice.  He  was  born  at  Doonryp,  in  Holland,  in  1836.  Intended  for 
a profession,  he  received  a thoroughly  classical  education  before  the  art 
instinct  awoke  him,  and  his  subsequent  choice  of  subjects  has  been  doubt- 
less due  in  part  to  the  bias  given  to  his  mind  by  these  studies.  Llis  art 
instructor  was  Baron  Leys,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  modern  Antwerp 
School,  which  is  really  but  an  offshoot  of  the  French  School.  In  1871 
Alma  Tadema  settled  in  London,  where  both  he  and  Tissot  have  wielded 
a large  influence  on  contemporary  English  art.  To  the  most  minute  real- 
ism he  joins  fine  color,  texture,  breadth,  and  a certain  degree  of  poetic 
feeling ; but  the  marvellous  dexterity  of  the  artist  impresses  one  more 
than  any  evidence  of  deep  feeling  or  thought.  Such  works  have  a cer- 


ALMA  TADEMA— MEISSONIER. 


99 


tain  influence  in  educating  the  public  mind  regarding  the  social  customs 
of  past  ages,  and  are  the  natural  result  of  the  investigating  tendencies  of 
the  age.  As  such  they  merit  careful  consideration,  while  not  entitled  to 
so  high  a rank  from  an  art  point  of  view  as  they  seem  to  command  by 
the  startling  self-assertion  of  their  intense  realism. 

In  one  class  of  painting  the  French  have  always  shown  characteristic 
ability — nor  has  that  ability  yet  deserted  them — and  that  is  in  the  delin- 
eation of  war  scenes.  From  Le  Gros  to  the  present  day  there  has  been 
a succession  of  artists  eminent  in  the  treatment  of  military  subjects. 


THE  miST  WIIISPEK. ALMA  TADEMA. 


Meissonier  has  been  for  long  a master  in  executing  miniature  paintings 
of  high  artistic  merit,  althougli  in  liis  later  works  we  do  not  tliink  lie 
equals  some  of  the  less  ambitious  canvases  done  at  an  earlier  period. 


100 


CONTEMPORAEY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


THE  ADVANCE  GUARD. — DE  NEUVILLE. 


Alphonse  de  Nenville  is  another  vigorous  military  painter.  His  ‘‘La 
Derniere  Cartouche,”  an  episode  at  Sedan,  excited  marked  sensation,  and 
is  fnll  of  dramatic  force.  Those  who  desire  to  know  more  of  the  spirited 
style  of  tills  artist  should  examine  his  magnificent  illustrations  to  Gui- 
zot’s “ History  of  France.”  Protais  and  Philippoteaux  are  also  strong 
in  this  department.  But  Edouard  Hetaille,  a pupil  of  Meissonier,  seems 
to  he  the  coming  military  artist  of  France.  “Le  Pegiment  qui  passe”  is 
quite  a remarkable  production;  while  the  painting  in  the  Salon  for  1876, 
“ En  Keconnaissance,”  merits  all  the  attention  it  has  received.  Artistic 
composition,  correct  color,  and  nervous  treatment  are  combined  with 
thorough  perception  of  the  war  spirit  and  knowledge  of  military  details. 

In  the  representation  of  Oriental  characters  and  scenes  the  French 
artists  have  always  excelled,  from  Hecamj^s  to  Ziem,  Pasini,  and  Belly. 
In  the  vivid  hues  and  effective  fiat  tints  of  the  skies,  bazaars,  and  cos- 
tumes, and  the  sensuous,  dreamy,  barbaric  splendor  of  the  gorgeous  East, 
the  French  mind  has  found  a congenial  field,  and  this  natural  inclina- 
tion has,  perhaps,  been  assisted  by  the  acquisition  of  Algeria.  Its  in- 
fluence on  the  national  literature  can  be  traced  in  such  delicious  and  en- 
ticing works  as  Gautier’s  “ Constantinople,”  and  the  “ Philippine  Isl- 
ands,” by  Count  Beaurevoir — a nom  de  jplume^  by-the-way.  A number 
of  artists  like  Landelle  and  Yernet-Lecomte  have  made  a specialty  of 


FROMENTIN— REGNAULT. 


101 


painting  types  of  Oriental  female  beauty,  and  with  fascinating  success. 
Of  course  no  engraving  can  suggest  the  iridescent  coloring  of  some 
of  these  paintings.  Eugene  Fromentin,  who  died  in  1876,  while  still 
comparatively  young,  not  only  represented  the  scenes  of  Arab  life  with 
effect ; he  was  also  masterful  in  the  drawing  of  the  Arab  horse,  and 
painted  with  a regard  for  the  ideal  in  style  and  subject  which  was  very 
refreshing.  He  was,  in  addition,  an  admirable  writer  and  discriminating 
art  critic,  as  indicated  by  his  Une  Annee  dans  le  Sahel  ” and  Les 
Maitres  d’ Autrefois.”  Fromentin  took  up  writing,  partly,  it  is  said,  in 
order  to  disprove  the  idea,  too  prevalent  in  modern  art  circles,  that  an 
artist  can  do  but  one  thing  well ; and  he  succeeded  in  the  attempt.  Ilis 
pen  is  scarcely  less  effective  and  forcible  than  his  brush. 

In  leaving  the  painters  of  the  contemporary  French  School,  we  may 
allude  to  Chevilliard,  who  excels  in  a class  of  subjects  of  which  the  en- 
graving “An  Entertaining  Story”  gives  a correct  idea;  and  Yollon,  who 
paints  old  armor  and  still  - life  with  really  extraordinary  ability ; and  we 
should  add  that  Henri  Hegnault,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Buzenval 
in  1870,  when  but  twenty-six  years  of  age,  was  the  most  remarkable  painter 
of  the  contemporary  school  in  point  of  promise,  and  had  he  lived  until 


'iJlK  liKTUKAT. 1)KTA]U,K. 


102 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


maturity  would  have  attained  a pre-eminent  position.  The  works  he  left 
behind  him  remind  one  in  fire  and  force  of  Gericault’s  paintings  or  Schil- 
ler’s “ Eobbers.”  But  he  appears  to  have  been  ever  surrounded  by  a fatal- 
ity that  foreboded  an  early  doom.  Nearly  killed  by  being  thrown  from 
a horse,  he  was  soon  after  poisoned,  narrowly  escaping  with  his  life,  and 


L’aURORE, — HAMON. 


was  subsequently  attacked  by  an  assassin  at  Eoine.  The  subjects  he  se- 
lected seemed  to  have  been  in  consonance  with  the  stormy  character  of 
his  brief  but  brilliant  career.  Winning  the  Prix  de  Koine  at  twenty-three, 
he  sent  home  during  his  absence  such  works  as  Judith  and  Holof ernes,” 
‘^Salome,”  the  famous  ‘‘Portrait  of  General  Prim,”  and  “An  Execution 
under  the  Moors  at  Granada,”  the  last  two  painted  during  a trip  to  Ma- 
drid and  Tangiers.  In  the  portrait  of  Prim,  which  is  so  magnificently 
rendered,  the  horse  is  of  Andalusian  type ; the  motif  of  the  composition 
represents  the  arrival  of  General  Prim  before  Madrid,  with  the  revolu- 
tionary forces,  October  8th,  1868. 

The  execution  scene  aroused  a profound  sensation  on  the  part  of  both 


EXECUTION  AT  GRENADA. 


103 


critics  and  public,  as  well  it  might,  for  the  startling  character  of  the  sub- 
ject and  the  tremendous  power  of  the  treatment,  greatly  assisted  by  that 
simplicity  which  indicates  large  reserve  strength  in  the  artist  and  wonder- 
fully stimulates  the  imagination  of  the  observer.  It  is  marvellous  that 
artists  so  rarely  avail  themselves  of  this  master  weapon  of  simplicity.  A 
marble  stairway  with  two  or  three  steps  leads  to  a Moorish  court  in  the 
style  of  the  Alhambra,  which  is  suffused  with  a glowing  light  suggesting 
the  burning  heat  of  a southern  sun.  In  the  immediate  foreground  are  the 
two  figures  composing  tlie  awful  drama — the  executioner  and  his  victim. 
The  former,  erect,  massive,  inflexible,  impassive  as  a statue,  draws  his 
cimeter  across  his  tunic  to  wipe  off  the  blood ; while  the  mangled  trunk 
of  what  was  once  a man  has  fallen  heavily  down  the  steps,  and  the  head 
lies  in  a pool  of  blood.  It  is  not  too  mucli  to  say  that  this  blood  mantling 
on  the  marble  slab  is  one  of  the  finest  bits  of  color  in  modern  art.  And 
yet  it  was  a mistake  to  treat  such  a subject  in  this  large  style  and  realistic 
way,  or,  in  fact,  to  choose  it  at  all.  Certain  scenes  are  banished  from  the 
stage  by  the  canons  of  dramatic  taste ; literature  also  has  similar  limita- 
tions ; and  the  art  of  painting  cannot  consider  itself  any  the  less  exempt 
from  the  laws  of  good  taste  or  the  censorship  of  social  ethics.  This  paint- 
ing is  hung  in  the  Luxembourg,  and  persons  have  been  so  overcome  by 
its  horrible  realism  as  to  be  seized  with  faintness  when  gazing  uj^on  it. 
There  seems  to  be  an  impropriety  in  admitting  such  a work  to  a public 
national  gallery,  and  the  government  is  guilty  of  a grave  mistake  in  al- 
lowing it  to  remain  there.  Either  it  is  bad  as  a work  of  art,  and  should 
therefore  be  excluded,  or  it  is  good  as  a work  of  art,  and  should  therefore 
be  forbidden,  on  exactly  the  same  grounds  that  the  public  are  guarded 
from  the  demoralizing  influences  of  a public  execution.  This,  however, 
would  not  prevent  its  more  private  exhibition,  purely  as  a work  of  art,  to 
those  who  would  study  it  only  from  sucli  a point  of  view. 

Tlie  contemporary  school  of  French  sculpture  does  not,  on  the  whole, 
maintain  relatively  as  high  a position  as  the  school  of  color  and  design. 
It  suffers  from  the  same  moral  causes,  which  lower  its  aims  and  make  it 
too  much  a matter  of  technical  dexterity.  Of  artists  in  marble  and  bronze 
the  number  is  large,  and  they  are  often  pleasing,  if  not  great.  The  sub- 
jects are  quite  frequently  suggested  by  a somewhat  intimate  accpiaintance 
with  the  graceful  but  easy-going  beauties  of  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette  and 
the  Quartier  Latin.  Guillaume  is  a sculptor  of  considerable  merit.  Chapu 


104 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


is  pi’obably  entitled  to  the  foremost  rank  at  present,  especially  in  the  treat- 
ment of  portrait  busts.  Carpeaux,  who  died  in  June,  1876,  was  more  cel- 
ebrated, and,  while  very  prolific,  and  adopting  a mnch  less  severe  style 


than  that  of  the  schools,  was  very  brilliant,  and  executed  some  works  of 
exceptional  beanty.  Ills  group  representing  the  “ Dancers,”  one  of  the 
four  colossal  groups  carved  in  the  round  on  the  facade  of  the  New  Opera 
building,  is  considered  his  chef-(Voeicvre^  although  very  severely  criticised 
in  some  quarters. 

Jnles  Dalon,  a pupil  of  Carpeanx,  is  also  a sculptor  of  marked  origi- 
nality, who  treats  a class  of  subjects  more  in  harmony  with  modern  thought 
than  with  the  antique.  Temporarily  resident  in  London,  on  account  of 
political  difficnlties,  he  will  doubtless  return  to  Paris  before  long.  Barye, 
who  is  bnt  just  dead,  was  a sculptor  of  really  exceptional  genius,  probably 
the  greatest  France  has  seen  since  David  d’ Angers.  Bnt  he  dealt  chiefly 
with  animal  life,  in  which  department  he  is  almost  without  a peer.  His 
lion  in  the  gardens  of  the  Tnileries  certainly  roars  his  praise  as  loudly  as 
the  lions  in  Trafalgar  Square  declare  the  fame  of  Landseer.  The  Jaguar 
Seizing  a Hare,”  a group  in  bronze,  is  one  of  the  most  tremendous  things 
ever  done  in  plastic  art,  both  for  consnmmate  knowledge  of  anatomical 
details  and  for  the  idea  of  force  conveyed.  The  nndnlating  action  of  the 
spine  of  the  jagnar,  actnally  quivering  in  bronze  with  the  overpowering, 
intoxicating  ra])tnre  of  possession  as  he  crunches  the  victim  in  his  horrible 
jaws,  not  only  disarms  criticism,  bnt  almost  stupefies  one  with  wonder  at 


JEAN  BAPTISTE  CARPEAUX. 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


105 


the  masterful  knowledge  and  imagination  displayed  by  the  author  of  this 
remarkable  work. 

Of  architecture  in  France  in  our  day  about  the  same  may  be  said  as  of 
sculpture.  Much  diligence,  careful  study,  frequent  good  taste,  a general 
combination  of  pleasing  effects  in  the  laying-out  of  streets,  are  evident, 
but  veiy  little  sign  of  originality  anywhere.  In  civic  and  domestic  archi- 
tecture the  English  seem  to  be  in  advance,  and  also  in  ecclesiastical  archi- 
tecture, if  one  can  judge  by  the  Church  of  St.  Anne  at  Auray  and  the 
cathedral  at  Boulogne,  both  just  completed  with  great  elaboration  and  ex- 
penditure of  Peter -pence,  and  both  alike  miracles  of  bad  taste.  But  in 
the  Flew  Opera-house  at  Paris  an  ambitious  conception,  possessed  of  great 
merit  in  parts,  if  not  as  a whole,  claims  our  respectful  attention.  It  is  a 


THE  DANCE. CAIIPEAUX. 


genuine  outgrowth  of  French  national  character  during  the  last  Empire, 
and  seems  offered  to  the  world  as  a challenge  to  criticism.  No  expense 
has  been  s])ared ; the  best  art  talent  of  the  country  was  called  in  to  aid  in 
its  com])letion,  and  it  seems  to  say  to  the  beholder,  ‘AVhat  can  you  object 
to  this  being  accepted  as  the  typical  architectural  style  of  the  nineteenth 


106 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


century  “ Mncli  every  way,”  we  miglit  reply,  but  neitlier  room  nor  in- 
clination allows  ns  to  expatiate  on  tlie  subject  as  we  slionld  like ; and  as 
the  building  lias  been  sufficiently,  and  sometimes  too  severely,  criticised  in 
many  cpiarters,  we  shall  contine  ourselves  to  a simple  sketch  of  a subject 
that  might  well  be  exjianded  into  a volume,  and,  indeed,  volumes  have 
been  written  upon  it.  The  last  one  is  an  answer  by  M.  Gamier,  the  archi- 
tect, in  re2:>ly  to  his  critics,  and  a very  spicy  work  it  is. 

The  building  is  in  the  form  of  an  irregular  parallelogram,  each  side 
facing  a street,  and  in  every  case  more  or  less  ornate.  The  chief  fagade 
fronts  the  boulevards,  and  is  surmounted  at  the  two  angles  by  magnifi- 
cent bronze  gilded  eagles  in  the  act  of  soaring.  In  the  rear  rises  the 
main  body  of  the  edifice,  crowned  by  another  gilded  colossal  group. 
This  side,  while  richly  ornate,  is  chiefly  noticeable  for  the  thirty  columns 
which  support  a heavy  cornice ; of  these,  sixteen  are  enormous  monoliths 
brought  from  Italy,  and  after  the  Corinthian  order.  They  are  very  hand- 
some, but  are  oj^en  to  serious  criticism,  because  if  any  ornament  in  archi- 
tecture sliould,  above  all  others,  be  constructive,  it  is  a row  of  columns, 
especially  if  of  the  Greek  styles.  How  the  pillars  of  the  Hew  Opera  do 
not  seem  to  support,  and  certainly  do  not  sustain,  more  than  the  cornice, 
which  is  in  point  of  fact  upheld  by  the  j^iers  against  which  these  columns 
are  placed.  Ho  constructive  necessity  for  them  exists  in  their  present 
position,  and  therefore  they  appear  there  wholly  for  decorative  purposes. 
Besides  many  minor  sculptures  and  medallions,  this  fagade  is  embellished 
with  four  colossal  allegoilcal  groups,  representing  Lyric  Poetry,  by  Jouf- 
froy  ; Music,  by  Guillaume ; Dancing,  by  Carpeaux  ; and  the  Lyric  Drama, 
by  Perraud. 

The  vestibules,  by  their  well-arranged  and  imposing  dimensions,  pre- 
pare one  for  the  grand  stairway,  or  series  of  stairways,  supported  by  a 
labyrinth  of  caryatides  and  clustered  columns,  and  surmounted  by  a vault 
adorned  with  four  superb  paintings  by  Pils.  The  general  effect  of  this 
stairway  is  very  majestic,  and  must  be  conceded  to  be  a masterpiece  of 
genius — one  of  the  finest  productions  of  modern  architecture.  The  dec- 
orative details  of  the  grand  foyer  and  adjoining  vestibules  are  so  dazzling 
in  splendor  as  almost  to  blind  one  to  certain  constructional  errors,  for 
which  they  have  been  severely  criticised,  and  M.  Gamier  himself  ac- 
knowledges the  truth  of  some  of  these  strictures.  The  panels  between 
the  doors  are  occupied  with  mirrors  of  plate-glass,  the  largest  ever  made ; 


FOOT  OF  GRAND  STAIRCASE  OF  NEW  OPERA-HOUSE,  PARIS. 


NEW  OPERA-HOUSE. 


109 


the  ceilings  are  inlaid  with  mosaics  executed  by  Venetian  artists,  that 
of  the  grand  foyer  is  embellished  with  paintings  which  have  attracted 
much  attention  in  art  circles : they  were  designed  and  executed  by  Paid 
Bandry,  one  of  the  finest  of  living  colorists. 

The  main  hall  designed  for  the  performances  offers  nothing  very  orig- 
inal. It  is,  of  course,  radiant  with  the  pomp  and  magnificence  of  gilded 
carvings  in  the  cinque-cento  style,  and  the  ceiling  is  superbly  frescoed ; 
but  the  hall  is  far  too  small  for  such  vast  approaches,  nominally  seating 


CEILING  OP  THE  AUDITORIUM  OP  THE  NEW  OPERA-HOUSE, 


about  2000,  but  really inot  over  1500  with  comfort  or  possibility  of  en- 
joying the  drama.  In  all  these  resjiects  it  must  yield  to  the  imposing 
dimensions  and  elegant  simplicity  of  Albert  Hall,  in  London,  which  seats 
15,000  with  comfort,  and  almost  equal  advantages  to  all  present  in  gain- 
ing the  chief  ends  for  which  such  a building  is  constructed.  It  cannot 
be  admitted  that  any  distinct  order  of  architecture  has  been  even  sug- 
gested in  the  Opera  building  of  the  last  Empire.  The  details  and  })las- 
tic  decorations  have  been  borrowed  from  past  styles,  and  may  be  called 
in  their  general  effect  a sort  of  bastard  Beiiaissance ; but  the  grand  stair 


110 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


way  somewhat 
compensates  for 
the  defects  else- 
where apparent, 
and  indicates 
that  tlie  techni- 
cal knowledge 
of  the  archi- 
tect has  been 
assisted  by  a 
streak  of  daring 
or  genius  alto- 
gether uncom- 
mon in  the  ar- 
chitecture of 
the  nineteenth 
century. 

In  the  de- 
partment of  ce- 
ramic art  in 
France  to-day, 
we  find  little  to 
blame  and  much 
to  praise.  The  passion  for  pottery-w^are,  for 
fashioning  unshapely  clay  into  graceful  forms, 
and  decorating  it  with  the  richest  colors  and 
designs  the  fancy  can  suggest,  is  the  earliest 
and  most  widely  diffused  of  all  the  art  in- 
stincts of  the  race,  and  must  therefore  be  re- 
garded as  a healthful  sentiment.  It  is  blame- 
worthy only  when  it  degenerates  into  an  arti- 
ficial spasm  of  enthusiasm — a pitiful  fashion — 
and  when  the  folly  and  affectation  of  fashion 
make  it  conventional,  and  seek  to  elevate  it  to 
a higher  position  in  the  domain  of  art  than  it 
merits.  Porcelain,  majolica,  faience,  or  cloisonnee  ware  are  all  admirable 
in  their  place,  but  it  is  an  absurdity  to  claim  for  them  a rank  above  that 


CERAMIC  ART. 


Ill 


to  wliicli  they  are  entitled,  or  to  forget  that  their  first  aim  is  utility,  to 
which  their  beauty  is  subsidiary.  But,  after  making  these  reservations, 
one  may  yet  have  an  abundance  of  enthusiasm  left  to  bestow  upon  the 
ceramic  art  of  France.  Sevres-ware  is  still  manufactured  at  the  govern- 
ment potteries,  lovely  and  attractive  as  ever.  But  it  is  the  faience  of 
Limoges,  a production  of  our  age,  and  surpassed  in  purely  artistic  quali- 
ties by  the  earthenware  of  no  other  age,  that  here  claims  more  than  a 
passing  allusion. 

Faience  is  a term  borrowed  from  Faenza,  in  Italy,  and  is  properly 
applied  to  pottery  decorated  after  the  object  has  been  partially  baked. 
Faience  w^as  first  made  at  Limoges  during  the  last  century,  but  it  is  only 
within  the  past  thirty  years  that  it  has  acquired  its  present  distinctive  ar- 
tistic character,  by  the  adoption  of  an  entirely  new  set  of  methods,  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Haviland,  a native  of  New  Hampshire.  Infusing 
new  enterprise  into  the  establishment,  he  called  around  him  artists  of 
genius,  who  immediately  made  their  mark.  Foremost  among  these  in- 
ventors of  a new  order  of  decorating  earthenware  are  Braquemond,  Da- 
mousse,  and  Delaplanche,  who  took  the  Grand  Prix  de  Borne.  The  se- 
crets of  their  art  are  known  only  to  themselves,  but  the  results  have  natu- 
rally excited  the  highest  enthusiasm  in  art  circles.  The  form  and  color  of 
the  objects  represented  are  adhered  to  with  the  closeness  of  a painting  on 
canvas,  instead  of  following  the  conventional  rules  hitherto  adopted  in 
ceramic  art.  The  ornaments  are  applied  either  in  rilievo  or  on  a fiat  sur- 
face. The  rendering  of  fiesh-tints  more  nearly  approaches  nature  than  in 
other  paintings  on  pottery,  and  the  deep,  superb  azures  and  clouded  grays 
surpass  any  effect  of  the  sort  hitherto  attempted,  and  resemble  the  broad, 
lush  richness  of  the  hafidling  and  color  of  French  landscape  art.  Much  of 
the  Limoges  faience  is  done  in  pate  tendre,  or  soft  porcelain,  one  of  the 
most  difficult  materials  to  handle  in  the  manufacture  of  pottery.  The 
shapes  can  only  be  formed  by  having  the  paste  sufficiently  thin  to  cast 
them  in  moulds,  turning  them  afterward  carefully  by  hand.  But  as  a re- 
sult the  colors,  after  firing,  give  the  impression  of  having  been  absorbed 
into  the  clay,  and  forming  one  of  its  integral  parts,  instead  of  merely  dec- 
orating the  surface. 

Thus  we  see  that,  as  in  England,  some  of  the  best  art  work  now  done 
in  France  is  decorative.  Bussia  and  Denmark  are  also  executing  some 
very  creditable  work  in  this  direction.  Bussian  silver  and  bronze  ware 


112 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


assumes  national  forms,  sncli  as  the  picturesque  Cossack  horsemen  and 
their  curiously  accoutred  steeds.  The  linear  art  of  Russia  is  yet  inferior 
in  excellence  to  that  of  her  artificers  in  metal — a sign  in  a rising  people 
that  her  best  art  is  yet  to  come.  The  terra-cotta  of  Denmark  is  less 
original  than  its  marine  jDainting ; it  is  rather  a modern  adaptation  of 
classic  forms,  hut  is  often  instinct  with  beauty  and  grace.  In  one  respect 
it  is  wholly  original — in  the  modelling  of  the  quaint  elves  and  trolls  of 
Northern  mythology.  In  other  departments,  the  greatest  artists  of  France 
are  dead  or  have  passed  their  prime,  and  few  as  yet  appear  who  can  sug- 
gest to  us  the  direction  that  is  to  be  followed  by  the  next  art  school  of 
France.  But  across  the  border  new  artists  and  new  schools  demand  our 
attention.  Let  us  turn  towards  the  Germanic  Empire,  and  take  a glance 
at  the  rising  art  school  of  Europe. 


DANISH  POTTERY. 


1 1 1. -GERMANY. 


XN  considering  the  present  state  of  the  fine  arts  in  Germany,  we  find 
that  while,  of  course,  art  has  always  been  guided  there  by  the  organic 
laws  which  underlie  all  true  art  among  the  Germans  as  with  other  peo- 
ple, certain  conditions  have  attended  it  quite  distinct  from  anything  in 
the  past  or  present  historj^  of  art  in  either  England  or  France.  Except- 
ing architecture  and  household  art,  which  were  developed  over  the  greater 
part  of  Europe  about  the  same  time  (after  the  Dark  Ages  began  to  yield 
to  the  dawning  light  of  the  Renaissance),  the  arts  received  little  attention 
in  the  two  nations  on  eitlier  side  the  Channel,  for  the}^  were  too  busily 
engaged  in  consolidating  the  races  and  provinces  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed into  two  great  kingdoms  to  attend  to  the  amenities  of  civilization ; 
and  in  each,  when  these  objects  had  been  accomplished,  it  was  literature 
which  first  asserted  itself  rather  than  art.  Foreign  artists  were  called  in 
from  abroad  to  decorate  the  halls  and  palaces  of  Francis  I.  or  Henry 
YIII.,  and  as  late  even  as  the  time  of  Charles  I.  and  Louis  XIY.  The 
example  of  these  foreign  artists — Cellini,  Rubens,  Holbein,  Yandyck — 
finally  had  its  natural  results,  and  a desire  to  give  expression  to  the  na- 
tional tastes  and  emotions  in  art  forms  gradually  awoke  in  the  hearts  of 
both  these  races.  Jean  Cousin,  the  first  French  artist  of  solid  merit  of 
whom  we  have  any  record,  was  the  avowed  admirer  and  imitator  of  Diirer, 
whom  he  resembled  in  versatility,  although  his  inferior  in  ability.  Rut  it 
was  not  until  the  present  century  that  either  people  produced  their  best 
art,  excepting  possibly  in  the  case  of  Poussin,  Claude  Lorraine,  Gains- 
borough, and  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds.  And  when  the  great  English  and 
French  schools  finally  made  themselves  felt,  it  was  in  London  and  Paris 
that  they  took  up  their  head-quarters  naturally,  and  without  any  schools 
of  rival  importance  in  other  cities  of  either  kingdom;  and  so  it  has  con- 
tinued to  the  present  day.  Whatever  art  schools  may  have  sprung  up 

8 


114 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


in  otlier  cities  exliibiting  more  or  less  promise,  it  is  to  London  and  Paris 
that  we  look  at  once  in  order  to  form  an  idea  of  the  national  art.  There 
the  government  schools  are  established,  there  the  royal  patronage  is  be- 
stowed, there  the  great  animal  exhibitions  are  held,  and  thither  tiock  the 
great  army  of  artists,  buyers,  and  amateurs  who  sustain  and  encourage 
the  growth  of  English  and  French  contemporary  art. 

Blit  in  Germany  it  is  quite  otherwise.  There  is  a strong  analogy  be- 
tween the  art  manifestations,  as  in  the  political  conditions,  of  Germany 
and  Italy  for  the  last  six  centuries.  Both  were  long  divided  into  nu- 
merous small  bodies,  governed  each  in  its  own  way,  and  presenting  a po- 
litical and  intellectual  activity  entirely  individual  and  distinct,  and  often 
full  of  liery  energy,  while  possessing  in  common  certain  general  race  qual- 
ities. It  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  each  to  be  united  at  last,  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  under  one  general  hegemony.  During  all 
these  ages  the  separate  states  of  both  Italy  and  Germany  have  never  en- 
tirely lost  their  individual  characteristics  or  the  national  vigor,  which  in 
some  cases  has  been  contiiiued,  especially  in  the  latter,  with  an  ever-in- 
creasing glow,  that  only  serves  to  give  greater  strength  to  the  empire 
composed  of  these  different  parts  welded  together  in  a solid  and  weighty 
mass.  But  it  is  to  be  noted  that  as  in  the  republics  and  monarchies  of 
Italy  in  the  Benaissance  each  had  an  art  school  of  its  own,  so  in  Germany 
the  development  of  political  and  intellectual  activity  in  the  free  cities 
was  accompanied  by  a strong  art  impulse.  If  they  did  not  always  show 
the  same  magnificent  eye  for  color,  tlie  same  masterly  drawing  of  the 
human  form,  as  Titian,  Baphael,  Michael  Angelo,  and  other  Italian  mas- 
ters, these  early  German  artists  at  least  indicated  equal  or  more  vivid 
imagination,  and  as  deep  an  earnestness  in  the  pursuit  of  art.  As  early 
as  1360  we  find  the  school  of  William  of  Cologne  and  the  Suabian  School 
of  Ulm  exerting  a powerful  influence.  Art  schools  sprung  up  in  all 
parts  of  Germany,  and  the  period  of  the  Beformation,  the  most  magnifi- 
cent art  period  of  Italy,  was  also  the  most  noteworthy  among  the  German 
states  of  any  that  has  preceded  this  century.  Holbein  the  elder  was  fol- 
lowed by  such  men  as  Elans  Holbein  the  younger,  Aldegrever,  and  Al- 
brecht Dilrer — a genius  rivalling  the  ability  and  versatility  of  Leonardo  da 
Yinci.  At  this  period,  too,  wood  and  copper-plate  engraving  in  Germany 
were  carried  to  a degree  scarcely  exceeded  at  the  present  day,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  engraving  of  Diirer’s  “St.  Jerome  and  the  Lion,”  while 


EARLY  GERMAN  ART. 


115 


this  art  was  also  brought  in  to  point  a satire  or  a moral,  as  in  “ The  Dance 
of  Death.” 

Although,  with  the  reaction  following  this  period  of  enormous  intel- 
lectual energy  succeeded  by  the  Thirty  Years’  ^yar,  the  War  of  the 


WILHELM  TON  KAULBACII. 

Succession,  and  the  Seven  Years’  War,  art  languished  in  Germany,  it 
never  entirely  died  out  as  an  active  principle  in  the  national  character. 
In  the  last  century  the  rise  of  the  great  composers  made  it  essentially 
the  musical  era  for  Germany  at  least ; but  still  we  observe  Angelica 
Kauffman  painting  with  considerable  talent,  and  Winch elmann  writing 
his  masterly  work  on  anticpie  art,  followed  by  Lessing  and  Goethe  com- 
posing works  bearing  on  the  art  question. 

Thus  we  find  tliat  at  the  time  when  English  and  French  art  were  just 
coming  forth,  fresh  and  full  of  the  vigor  of  youth,  Germany  had  already 
produced  a noble  school  of  artists  centuries  before,  and  it  could  therefore 
be  hardly  expected  of  lier,  in  the  natural  course  of  events,  to  keep  pace 
in  art  witli  tliese  great  rising  scliools,  especially  since  upon  each  was  con- 
centrated tlie  patronage  of  a powerful  and  united  government. 

Eut  notwithstanding  this,  the  literary  and  scientific  impulse  which 
found  a focus  at  Weimar,  but  was  scattered  more  or  less  throughout  the 
states  of  Germany,  was  accompanied  by  a revival  of  the  art  feeling,  which, 


116 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


as  we  all  know,  was  chiefly  developed  at  Diisseldorf,  Berlin,  and  especially 
Mnnicli,  at  the  latter  place  under  the  auspices  of  Lndwig  I.,  the  late  king, 
the  most  enthusiastic  royal  patron  art  has  met  since  Lorenzo  de’  Medici. 


BUiSH-RANGEKS. — DIEZ. 


Whatever  may  now  be  thought  by  some  critics  of  the  sculptures  of 
Schwanthaler,  or  the  frescoes  and  canvases  of  Overbeck,  Hess,  Schnorr, 
Cornelius,  or  Kauibach,  it  cannot  be  gainsaid  that  they  were  men  of  great 
power,  who,  if  too  conventional,  and  borrowing  their  inspiration  too  often 


MUNICH  SCHOOL. 


IIT 


from  the  styles  of  schools  moved  by  different  tastes  and  opinions  and  be- 
liefs from  our  own  age  rather  than  from  the  study  of  nature  itself  as  it 
appears  to  our  eyes  in  our  time,  were  still  impelled  by  a true  art  enthu- 
siasm and  noble  aspirations,  l^othing  low  or  demoralizing  entered  into 
the  conceptions  of  these  seekers  after  the  ideal.  And  while  we  may  pre- 
fer the  methods  and  subjects  of  the  contemporary  schools  of  German  art, 
we  cannot  in  justice  withhold  from  these  masters  the  profound  respect 
due  to  earnest  pioneers,  without  whose  previous  clearing  of  the  road  mod- 
ern German  art  could  not  have  reached  its  present  commanding  position. 

In  looking  over  the  field,  we  find  several  distinct  schools  of  art  ex- 
isting in  Germany  at  the  present  day  as  in  former  ages.  In  no  one  place, 
as  yet,  is  there  a concentration  of  the  national  art  culture ; for  although 
an  empire,  Germany  is  also  a confederation  of  states,  each  still  preserving 
its  integrity.  To  an  American  it  is  interesting  to  study  this  phase  of 
Germanic  art,  because  it  is  likely  that,  as  at  present,  so  in  the  immediate 
future,  the  development  of  the  art  spirit  in  the  United  States  wfill  be 
rather  by  States  than  national.  Thus  we  see,  besides  the  system  of  ai-t 
education  in  the  public  schools  for  the  purj^ose  of  stimulating  industrial 
art,  art  schools  or  academies  and  galleries,  supported  by  government  pat- 
ronage, at  Carlsruhe,  Diisseldorf,  Stuttgart,  Dresden,  Berlin,  Munich,  and 
Yieiina,  which,  although  not  yet  included  in  the  German  Empire,  is  es- 
sentially German,  and  is  so  treated  in  all  except  merely  political  relations. 
The  union  of  the  old  Austrian  duchy  to  the  German  Empire  is  consid- 
ered one  of  those  natural  events  which  must  come  as  a matter  of  course, 
being  only  a question  of  time.  Eor  obvious  reasons,  the  Munich  School 
has  been,  and  continues  to  be,  not  only  the  most  famous  but  the  best  of 
these  schools  in  the  quality  of  its  art.  In  no  other  city  in  Europe,  not 
even  excepting  Paris,  is  the  art  impulse  so  clearly  manifest ; although  the 
greater  size  of  Paris, ’.and  the  longer  period  during  which  works  of  art 
have  been  accumulating  there  as  spoils  of  war  and  in  other  ways,  combine 
to  present  such  a vast  mass  of  material  that  one  is  dazzled  by  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  display.  But,  although  on  a much  smaller  scale,  there  is 
enough  of  the  art  of  the  past  ages  collected  and  arranged  in  Munich  to 
satisfy  the  most  craving  art  ap|)etite,  while  the  number  of  artists  living, 
studying,  and  painting  there — over  two  thousand — exceeds,  in  proportion 
to  the  population,  the  art  guilds  of  any  other  city.  One  meets  them  at 
every  turn,  often  j)icturesque  enough  in  their  appearance,  with  black 


118 


CONTEMPORAEY  AET  IE  EUEOPE. 


beards  and  keen  eyes,  everlastingly  puffing  tlie  reverie -inspiring  cigar, 
and  almost  extinguished  under  slonclied  hats  wellnigh  as  enormous  as  the 


KARL  THEODOR  VON  PILOTY. 


sombrero  of  the  Adelantado  of  the  Seven  Cities.  From  time  to  time 
they  give  a great  ball  in  the  Opera-house.  The  one  at  the  carnival  of 
last  year  was  attended  by  great  splendor.  Tlie  costumes  were  all  of  the 
thirteentli  and  fourteenth  centuries,  and  in  some  cases  cost  over  a thou- 
sand dollars.  For  three  months  before  it  came  oft,  the  managers  were 
busy  superintending  the  arrangements.  The  person  representing  the 
Turkish  ambassador  came  in  witli  a retinue  of  forty,  all  magnificently 
attired.  Fritz  Kaulbach  appeared  as  Charles  Y.,  with  a lady  on  his  arm 
as  the  queen.  Young  Arnim,  a brother  of  Count  Yon  Arnim,  and  a pupil 
of  Piloty,  was  conspicuous  in  the  gorgeous  robes  of  a cardinal. 

The  Kunstverein  is  an  art  union  composed  of  artists  in  Munich. 
They  have  a commodious  gallery,  to  which  every  week  they  send  speci- 
mens of  their  latest  work.  By  attending  these  exhibitions  one  can  form 
a tolerable  idea  of  art  progress  in  Munich,  althougli  some  of  the  best 
artists  rarely  send  to  them.  At  the  close  of  the  week  the  paintings  are 
sent  to  some  other  city  for  exliibition,  and  a new  collection  takes  its  place. 
The  union  purchases  a certain  number  of  these  works,  when  not  exceeding 


ACADEMY  OF  MUNICH. 


119 


fifteen  hundred  marks  in  price.  Any  one  is  permitted  to  become  a sub- 
scriber on  paying  twenty  marks.  At  tiie  end  of  the  year  the  paintings 
are  raffled  for,  and  thus  fall  to  the  lot  of  some  of  the  subscribers,  while 
every  one  receives  an  engraving  worth  ten  marks. 

Besides  furnishing  the  artists  with  so  many  examples  of  the  schools 
of  other  ages,  the  Bavarian  government  also  supports  an  Art  Academy, 
in  which  twelve  professors  give  instruction,  three  for  each  department  of 
art,  and  each  having  a school  of  his  own.  Piloty,  Diez,  Lindenschmidt, 
and  other  leading  artists  hold  these  professorships,  with  liberal  salaries, 
and  assisted  by  a number  of  subordinate  instructors  who  attend  to  the 
rudimental  branches  of  art.  The  Academy  is  located  in  a vast  antique 


SKM  1)ISC()VKUIN(J  WALLKNSTKJN  DKAl). 1>IIA)TY. 


|)ile  whicli  was  occupied  as  a monastery  until  tliis  century.  Hut  as  it  is 
botli  gloomy  }ind  incommodious,  the  government  is  now  erecting  a new 
academy  near  the  Sieges  Thor,  at  an  estimated  (*ost  of  two  million  llorins; 
it  is  to  be  coin])leted  in  1ST8.  TJie  expense  to  the  students  occupying 


120 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


studios  in  the  Academy  is  merely  nominal.  There  are  no  annual  exhi- 
bitions, as  in  Paris  and  London,  but  generally  one  is  held  once  in  three  or 
four  years. 

What  is  and  has  for  a long  time  been  a leading  trait  of  the  Munich 
Academy  is  its  cosmopolitan  character.  “Art  has  no  country,  it  is  uni- 
versal,” nobly  said  King  Ludwig.  In  consecpience,  every  encouragement 
has  been  held  out  to  induce  artists  from  abroad  to  study  or  settle  in  that 
city.  The  natural  result  is  that  many  an  artist,  like  Muncazky,  for  exam- 
ple, who  has  made  his  reputation  elsewhere,  has  received  his  artistic  train- 
ing in  that  little  Bavarian  capital,  while  many  of  the  best  artists  now 
’working  there  are  foreigners,  or  at  least  from  all  parts  of  Germany.  Ba- 
varian, Prussian,  Austrian,  Suabian,  Italian,  Greek,  Hungarian,  Pussian, 
Pole,  Dane,  Norwegian,  Englishman,  and  American  there  meet  on  a com- 
mon ground,  burying  political  or  national  differences,  all  united  by  a gen- 
eral einulation  for  success  towards  a common  end.  The  civilized  and  art 
world  owes  a debt  of  gratitude  to  King  Ludwig  which  should  temper 
whatever  criticisms  might  be  passed  upon  the  character  or  policy  of  the 
Bavarian  line. 

When  we  look  at  the  results  of  this  munificent  patronage,  we  find  a 
vast  art  activity  developed  here  during  half  a century,  proceeding  from 
one  step  to  another  in  progress,  until  from  extreme  conventionalism  a 
point  in  the  scale  of  improvement  is  reached  at  last  by  a thoroughly  easy 
and  natural  process,  where  we  find  the  contemporary  school  of  Munich, 
and  we  may  add  also  of  Germany,  holding  the  foremost  position  in  Euro- 
pean art  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. Kaulbach,  who  has  just  passed  away,  is  the  German  artist  of  this 
century  perhaps  the  best  known  abroad.  Less  conventional  than  his  pred- 
ecessors, he  undoubtedly  possessed  a vast  genius ; and  yet  he  was  weak 
in  color.  How  few  can  excel  in  all  the  art  qualities ! Pubens,  equally 
great  in  imagination,  drawing,  color,  and  technique^  presents  an  example 
so  entirely  alone  in  the  combination  of  many  qualities,  that  we  feel  how 
rare  if  is  to  excel  in  all.  The  works  of  Kaulbach,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  be  quite  as  impressive  if  rendered  simply  in  black  and  white. 

Theodore  Yon  Piloty,  another  artist  well  known  abroad,  at  least  by 
reputation,  comes  later.  He  is  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  in  his  man- 
ner serves  to  mark  another  step  in  the  advancing  scale  of  modern  German 
art.  He  was  a pupil  of  Paul  Delaroche,  whom  he  enthusiasticalP  admires. 


BEFORE  CARDINAL  CAJETAN. LINDEN 


C ■' 


X:  '>■ 


S',:;;:. 


WORKS  OF  PILOTY. 


123 


Hence  we  find  in  his  works  constant  traces  of  tlie  master,  who  was,  it 
must  be  confessed,  the  superior  of  the  pupil.  In  even  the  best  paintings 
of  Piloty,  who  is  pre-eminently  an  historical  painter,  there  is  often  percep- 
tible a certain  theatrical,  sensational  effect  in  the  composition  which  takes 
away  from  its  naturalness.  His  Columbus  ” offends  very  strongly  in 
this  respect ; “ Thusnelda  at  the  Triumph  of  Germanicus,”  his  most  am- 
bitious work,  is  perhaps  more  satisfactory;  while  “ Seni  discovering  Wal- 
lenstein dead  ” is  more  simple,  and  is  undoubtedly  a work  of  great  j)ower. 
The  figure  of  Seni  is  very  impressive,  and  the  prostrate  corpse  of  the 
murdered  general,  almost  colossal  in  its  proportions,  is  grandly  rendered. 
The  glitter  of  the  diamond  on  his  finger  presents  one  of  those  simple  but 
highly  suggestive  effects  which  are  only  born  of  genius. 

An  interesting  incident  in  connection  with  the  composition  of  this 
painting  is  told.  For  several  days  the  artist  had  been  endeavoring  to 
arrange  the  drapery  about  the  cor^^se  of  the  dead  hero,  without  suiting 
himself.  At  last  it  was  adjusted  somewhat  to  his  liking,  and  he  began  to 
sketch  it  in,  when  a knock  was  heard  at  the  door.  It  was  King  Ludwig, 
who  was  in  the  habit  of  walking  about  the  city  and  the  studios  as  a pri- 
vate citizen.  Being  a little  deaf,  he  did  not  hear  the  remonstrances  of 
the  artist,  and  ruthlessly  walked  into  the  newly  adjusted  drapery,  throw- 
ing it  into  disorder.  Of  course  nothing  could  be  said,  but  after  he  left, 
Piloty  began  to  swear  and  pull  his  hair  with  vexation.  Suddenly  he 
looked  around,  and  beheld  a new  fold  apparent  in  the  disordered  drapery, 
which  was  exactly  what  he  wanted.  Sitting  down  at  once,  he  sketched  it 
on  the  canvas  in  the  shape  in  which  it  is  now  seen  in  the  finished  painting. 

Piloty  has  founded  a school.  He  achieved  his  fame  and  influence 
early ; but  so  rapidly  has  German  art  ripened  of  late  years  that  he  has 
lived  to  see  the  sceptre  pass  from  his  hand.  Such  is  the  fate  of  all  re- 
formers. The  genius  which  entitles  them  to  our  veneration,  and  increases 
the  world’s  stock  of  culture  and  progress,  so  tends  to  educate  the  rising 
generation  that  the  very  efforts  which  placed  them  on  so  high  a point  aid 
to  carry  their  pupils  still  higher  and  beyond  them.  ATe  cannot,  ])erliaps, 
ascribe  to  Piloty  original  powers  e(pial  to  those  of  Kaulbacli  or  of  some  of 
the  rising  school.  But  there  is  some  brilliant  work,  notwithstanding,  in  a 
j)ainting  which  he  is  now  executing  for  the  new  Ihithhaus,  or  City  Hall, 
of  Munidi,  for  which  he  is  to  receive  50,000  florins — a large  sum  for  Ger- 
juany.  It  is  an  allegorical  re])resentation  of  the  city,  and  contains  ])oi- 


124 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


traits  of  all  her  citizens  wlio  liave  been  clistingnislied  in  her  past  history. 
It  seems  thus  far  to  contain  more  of  the  good  qualities  of  his  style  and 
less  of  the  faults  of  his  other  works.  He  is  painting  this  scene  in  Kanl- 
bach’s  former  studio,  because  his  own  studio,  althongh  a hall  thirty-five 
feet  square,  is  not  of  sufficient  length  for  a canvas  that  seems  over  forty 
feet  long. 

Professor  A.  Muller  and  Otto  Seitz  are  also  artists  deservino:  honora- 
ble  mention,  as  holding  with  Piloty  a position  between  the  school  imme- 
diately preceding  and  that  now  coming  on  the  field.  Of  landscapists  still 
painting  in  that  method  and  well  knoAvn  in  America  there  are  a good  num- 
ber, including  also  animal-painters  of  considerable  merit,  as,  for  example, 
Yoltz  and  Paul  Weber.  A number  of  pleasing  genre  painters  belong 
to  this  class,  imitating  the  style  of  which  Meyer  Yon  Bremen  is  a well- 
known  exemplar.  But  there  is  a general  sameness  in  their  manner,  a lack 
of  character  and  individuality,  prettiness  rather  than  strength,  and  con- 
ventionalism in  tone  and  color,  although  often  combined  with  real  poetic 
feeling.  To  this  school  we  are  indebted  for  several  hundred  repetitions 
of  views  on  the  Kdnigs-see — a wild  romantic  lake  known  to  most  travel- 
lers in  Germany.  But  one  may  have  too  much  even  of  the  Kdnigs-see, 
and  the  essential  weakness  of  this  sort  of  paintings  becomes  apj^arent 
when  seen  by  the  side  of  works  of  the  new  school  of  art  in  Munich.  Let 
ns  be  just.  We  would  not  say  there  is  not  much  talent  evident  in  these 
paintings ; but  it  is  talent  rather  than  genius,  conventionalism  rather  than 
originality;  and  while  the  Munich  School  was  producing  only  such  works, 
it  could  not  conscientiously  claim  an  equal  place  with  the  great  landscapes 
and  historical  pieces  of  the  French  School. 

It  is  a curious  circumstance  that  by  a species  of  tacit  common  consent 
so  many  of  the  pupils  of  Piloty  himself  should  have  broken  loose  from 
his  infiuence  even  while  studying  under  him,  and,  as  if  unconsciously 
moved  by  a certain  law,  formed  a style  so  different  from  his  own.  The 
chief  points  of  distinction  which  separate  contemporary  German  art  from 
its  predecessors  seem  to  be  the  result,  to  a remarkable  degree,  of  a very 
careful  study  of  certain  masters  of  the  Dutch,  Flemish,  and  German  ar- 
tists of  the  Kenaissance  period  on  the  part  of  a few  men  who  brought  to 
the  study  a new  way  of  using  their  powers  of  observation,  and  in  turn 
influenced  other  artists  of  the  age.  It  is,  beyond  question,  to  this  cause 
that  we  must  partially  attribute  the  turn  given  to  French  art  at  the  time 


NEW  SCHOOL  OF  MUNICH. 


125 


wlien  it  began  to  yield  to  the  influence  of  Troyon  and  Eonssean.  Eu- 
bens,  Eembrandt,  Eiiysdael,  Franz  Hals,  Aldegrever,  Diirer,  although  dead 
ages  ago,  still  influence  art,  and  have  proved  to  the  greatest  artists  of  this 
century  what  Homer  and  Theocritus,  Dante  and  Spenser,  have  been  to 
modern  poets — not  sources  of  inspiration,  for  no  man  of  genius  gains  his 
inspiration  except  directly  from  nature,  but  teachers,  directors  in  art 
principles,  and,  above  all,  instructors  in  the  great  truth  that  simplicity  is 
a prominent  feature  of  the  highest  art,  whether  in  letters  or  in  paint- 
ing, and  that  in  the  expression  of  the  ideal  itself  there  is  no  model  su- 
perior to  nature. 

The  leading  characteristics  of  the  new  Munich  School  seem  to  be, 
therefore,  greater  breadth  in  the  treatment  of  details,  preferring  general 
effect  to  excellence  in  parts  of  a work,  greater  boldness  and  dash,  and 
consequently  more  freshness  in  the  handling  of  pigments,  the  suggestion 
of  texture  and  substance  by  masses  of  paint,  handling  the  brush  in  accord- 
ance with  the  nature  of  the  object  represented,  and,  finally,  a more  correct 
eye  in  perceiving  the  relations  of  colors  to  each  other — the  quality  of  sub- 
tle tints  in  flesh,  for  example — and  therefore  a more  just  representation  of 
the  mysterious  harmonies  of  nature,  while  there  is  everywhere  apparent  a 
masterly  skill  in  the  rudimentary  branches  of  art.  These  have  for  long 
been  the  distinguishing  traits  of  the  modern  French  School,  but  they  have 
only  recently  begun  to  attract  attention  in  modern  Germany,  and  to  those 
accustomed  to  the  older  school  it  requires  a certain  degree  of  art  edu- 
cation to  perceive  the  excelling  quality  of  these  methods.  But  connois- 
seurs or  those  who  look  at  art  in  general  need  to  understand  that  no  less 
than  in  literature  does  the  sesthetic  taste  require  to  be  cultivated.  Some 
have  at  an  early  period  a capacity  to  appreciate  Sliakspeare,  but  to  most 
the  growTli  of  their  appreciation  of  him  may  be  taken  as  the  measure  of 
their  growth  in  intellectual  culture  and  life  experience.  Of  course,  in 
Germany  as  in  France  there  are  artists  who  carry  the  practice  of  these 
art  methods  to  an  extreme,  once  they  become  a fashion  and  therefore  pe- 
cuniarily profitable.  But  we  do  not  speak  here  of  extremists  or  disciples 
and  imitators,  but  of  masters  who  originate  a style  and  demonstrate  only 
its  legitimate  results. 

But  although  so  far  resembling  the  French  Scliool,  there  is  no  reason 
to  believe  that  the  present  Munich  School  is  an  imitator  of  that;  for  in 
the  choice  of  subjects  it  is  altogether  at  variance  with  it,  and  the  leaders 


126 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


in  the  new  movement  liave  never  studied  in  France,  and  have  generally 
not  been  out  of  Germany.  The  causes  seem  rather  to  be  as  foreshadowed 


FRANZ  LENBACH. 


on  a previous  page.  Leibl  is  one  of  the  originators  of  the  new  school, 
and  in  the  rendering  of  some  of  its  chief  points  has  no  superior.  The 
texture  of  flesh,  the  myriad  delicate  pearly  grays  and  pinks,  and  subtle 
lines  of  light  and  shadow  playing  on  the  human  countenance  or  in  the 
muscles  and  sinews  of  the  hand,  and  indicating  character,  he  seizes  with 
masterly  skill.  An  artist  who  introduces  such  study  of  nature  and  such 
methods  of  imitating  it  into  art  practice  is  really  great,  even  if  deficient 
in  many  other  respects. 

In  order  to  understand  the  importance  of  the  reforms  introduced  by 
Leibl  and  his  co-laborers  in  the  held,  one  has  but  to  visit  the  new  Pi- 
nakothek,  or  gallery,  built  entirely  for  the  permanent  reception  of  the 
so-called  New  School  of  Painting,  that  is,  of  representative  works  pro- 
duced by  leading  Munich  artists  since  the  foundation  of  the  Academy. 
The  rapidity  of  the  change  is  so  great  as  almost  to  exceed  belief.  Piloty 
and  Kaulbach,  although  represented  by  their  huest  works,  seem  already 
of  the  past,  and  they  are  giants  compared  with  some  whose  works  are 
there.  The  contrast  is  still  more  marked  on  turning  to  paintings  by 


LEIBL— LENBACH. 


12T 


Bocklin,  or  tlie  later  scliool.  That  we  speak  in  such  terms  is  not  owing 
merely  to  the  fact  that  the  present  school  is  more  new,  and  therefore 
preferable  in  the  estimation  of  some ; for  the  best  painting  in  the  collec- 
tion is  Wilkie’s  Opening  of  the  Will,”  painted  some  sixty  years  ago  for 
the  King  of  Bavaria.  Such  rendering  of  character  or  imitation  of  llesh- 
tints  kills  everything  aronnd  it,  and  has  not  been  approached  by  modern 
German  art  until  the  present  school  came  in. 

Leibl  reveals  in  painting  the  rongh-featnred,  roughly  clad  Banerein  or 
peasants  of  the  Bavarian  handets,  and  the  resnlts  are  sometimes  quite 
marvellous.  He  can  also  give  yon,  if  he  chooses,  the  delicate  beauty  of  a 
lady’s  hand  with  a truth  to  nature  that  throws  enthusiastic  young  artists 
into  raptures.  But  he  does  not  often  so  choose.  And  this  leads  us  re- 
luctantly to  say  that  the  essential  coarseness  of  his  character  prevents  him 
from  being  as  great  an  artist  as  his  abilities  might  otherwise  have  made 
him.  The  greatest  artists  generally  combine  with  strength  a certain  re- 
linement,  apparent  in  their  works,  if  not  in  their  manners.  Beauty  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  term  has  no  attractions  for  Leibl.  Even  amidst  the 
homely  uncouthness  of  German  peasantry,  handsome  men  and  comely 
maidens  are  to  be  found.  lie  seems  to  go  out  of  his  way  to  give  us  the 
most  repulsive  specimens  of  both  sexes  that  he  can  hnd. 

Franz  Lenbach  is  another  artist,  who,  in  a style  quite  different  from 
that  of  Leibl,  is  fully  his  equal  in  technical  qualities ; if  not  superior  in 
ability,  his  canvases  give  us  more  satisfaction.  He  chiefly  devotes  himself 
to  portraiture,  although  sometimes  making  admirable  copies  from  the  mas- 
ters, and  ideal  compositions,  such  as,  for  example,  his  young  herdsman 
lying  on  the  grass  on  a sunny  day,  shading  his  eyes  with  his  hand,  or  the 
three  Orientals  standing  in  a magnificent  group  on  the  brow  of  a hill. 
He  makes  a very  careful  study  of  character,  and  in  this  respect,  at  least, 
reminds  one  of  Yelasquez,  although  his  treatment  is  more  that  of  Rem- 
brandt. Lenbach  is  fortunately  possessed  of  sufticient  means  to  allow  him 
to  paint  only  what  he  pleases,  and  will  not  attenqfl  the  likeness  of  every 
one  who  ap})lies.  Having  decided  to  take  a ])ortrait,  he  is  not  satisfied 
with  one  position,  but  makes  a full  oil  sketch  from  three  or  four  difl'er- 
ent  sides  until  he  hits  upon  one  that  best  re])resents  the  character  or  in- 
dividuality of  the  subject.  II is  portraits  of  Von  Moltke  and  Liszt  are 
strong  examples  among  many  that  might  he  alluded  to  of  the  admirable 
results  achieved  by  such  earnest,  conscientious  methods ; and  he  is  not  less 


128 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


successful  in  rendering  the  beauty  or  character  of  a woman’s  face.  'Nor 
does  Lenbach  rest  his  efforts  after  art  perfection  liere.  He  works  even- 
ings after  effects  both  chromatic  and  in  ehiar  - oscttro,  especially  by  the 
use  of  a frame  covered  with  a thin  black  gauze.  Behind  this  a person  is 
placed  in  different  positions,  with  the  light,  also  behind  the  gauze,  falling 
upon  him ; the  effect  is  that  of  an  oil  - painting.  Ilis  studio,  built  ex- 
pressly for  him  in  a garden,  consists  of  tliree  apartments,  furnished  with 
a profusion  of  antique  and  Oriental  objects  such  as  are  dear  to  the  eye 
of  an  artist,  and  which  often  reappear  in  his  paintings. 

Ludwig  Loefftz  is  another  of  the  rising  artists  of  Munich,  one  of 
whose  paintings  at  the  recent  national  exhibition  carried  off  a first  medal. 
Eight  years  ago  he  was  a paper-hanger ; now  he  has  a school  for  draw- 
ing, considered  one  of  the  best  ever  opened  in  Germany,  and  in  color, 
portraiture,  and  composition  is  entitled  to  a high  position.  Victor  Muller, 
who  died  two  or  three  years  ago,  while  still  young,  was  a painter  whose 
compositions  are  full  of  admirable  qualities  of  color,  while  reminding  one 
of  no  other  artist  in  style,  quiet  in  effect,  yet  suggesting  nature ; while 
such  paintings  as  Hamlet  ” or  “ Ophelia,”  entirely  free  from  anything 
sensational,  show  also  that  he  had  a real  perception  of,  and  power  of  ex- 
pressing, the  hidden  springs  of  action  which  make  us  what  we  are.  Fritz 
Kaulbach,  a distant  relation  of  the  late  artist,  is  also  well  deserving  of 
similar  praise.  In  some  of  his  lovely  female  faces  one  can  trace  a genuine 
feeling  after  the  ideal.  Lindenschmidt,  a professor  in  the  Academy,  is  in- 
spired by  noble  thought  and  high  artistic  qualities  in  rendering  character, 
especially  in  historic  compositions.  His  scenes  in  the  career  of  Luther 
are  marked  by  singular  power,  and  entitle  him  to  rank  among  the  fore- 
most living  artists  of  Germany.  Kudolph  Seitz,  known  chiefly  in  frescoes 
and  decorative  work,  has  a remarkable  feeling  for  the  beauty  of  physical 
forms.  Two  armorial  frescoes  with  which  he  has  beautified  the  entrance 
to  the  new  Hathhaiis  well  indicate  tlie  excellence  which  may  be  achieved 
in  this  branch  of  pictorial  art. 

When  we  come  to  Gabriel  Max,  we  find  a genius,  to  the  analysis  of 
whose  masterly  conceptions  we  should  much  jmefer  devoting  a chapter 
instead  of  a few  meagre  paragraphs.  In  respect  of  mental  grasp  and  im- 
agination, combined  with  technical  ability,  we  should  give  the  first  place 
in  the  contemporary  Munich  School  to  Max  and  Bocklin.  Artists  and 
public  are  alike  agreed  upon  the  surpassing  character  of  Max’s  works,  al- 


PAINTINGS  OF  MAX. 


129 


tlioiigli,  of  course,  some  prefer  one  painting  to  another,  while  the  rather 
morbid  tendency  of  his  subjects  makes  these  paintings  better  suited,  per- 
haps, to  exhibition  in  a public  gallery  than  in  a private  drawing-room. 
In  disposition  he  is  retiring,  and  difficult  of  access  to  all  but  a few  select 
friends,  and  rarely  can  any  one  be  admitted  to  his  studio ; but  at  the  same 
time  he  is  of  a genial  nature  and  of  a social  turn  when  in  company  with 
his  chosen  friends. 

Although  we  notice  but  two  or  three  of  his  works,  it  should  be  added 
that  these  do  not  wholly  convey  an  idea  of  the  variety  of  subjects  which 
Max  has  treated.  The  first,  it  is  said,  allegorically  represents  an  incident 
from  his  own  life.  In  the  semi-twilight  of  an  autumn  evening  we  see  a 
comjDany  assembled  under  a wood,  dancers  and  others,  in  the  picturesque 
costume  of  mediseval  times.  Lanterns  light  up  the  scene  in  the  distance. 
In  the  foreground,  alone  amidst  the  gay  dancers  circling  around  him,  is 
a young  man  leaning  pensively  against  a tree.  This  is  supposed  to  rep- 
resent the  artist  himself.  To  him,  on  his  right,  advances  a beautiful 


GA15IUKL  MAX. 


maiden  leaning  on  the  arm  of  another  youth.  Her  face  is  one  of  en- 
trancing loveliness : she  is  liis  betrothed.  Hut  in  her  hand  slie  liolds  out 
to  him  a wild  crocus — a flower  whose  meaning,  when  given  by  a lady  to 
her  lover,  is  that  he  can  never  more  hope  for  her  love.  In  the  mean 

0 


130  CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 

time,  on  tliis  side  of  the  tree,  unseen  by  him,  a lady  approaches,  with  a 
veil  over  her  head,  but  her  features  visible  in  profile.  Slie  is  older  than 


THE  lion’s  bride. MAX. 


tlie  other  lady,  but  in  her  mien  is  dignity  combined  with  grace  and 
beauty.  She  is  tlie  lady  who  is  destined  eventually  to  become  his  wife. 
This  painting,  while  successful  in  tlie  rendering  of  each  individual  char- 
acter, is  also  of  pre-eminent  artistic  worth  for  the  regard  paid  to  the 
values,  the  quality  of  the  texture  and  color,  and  the  harmonious  arrange- 
ment of  the  details  of  the  composition. 

The  other  painting  is  taken  from  ‘‘Faust,”  and  is  entitled  “Gretchen.” 
It  represents  Margaret  on  the  mountain-side  on  Walpurgis-night.  FTotli- 
ing  can  be  simpler  as  a composition,  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
artist  could  have  better  succeeded  in  giving  us  on  one  canvas  a more  com- 
plete epitome  of  the  tragic  life  of  the  pure,  greatly  injured,  and  afflicted 
child  of  destiny  whom  Goethe  has  chosen  to  symbolize  such  a vast  mul- 
titude whose  pathetic  and  mysterious  fate  cannot  be  explained  by  any 
human  logic.  A solitary  figure  she  appears,  robed  in  white,  and  still  so 
represented  as  to  suggest  a certain  ghostly  impalpableness.  She  stands 
on  the  grass,  scarcely  pressed  by  her  pale  feet.  Behind  her,  faintly  dis- 
cernible in  the  gloom,  are  the  rocks,  and  nearer,  ravens  pecking  at  a dia- 


HOCHHEIMER. — GKUTZNER. 


GRETCHEN— THE  MARTYR. 


133 


mond  ring.  A white  band  around  her  neck  conceals  the  inode  of  her 
bloody  execution,  but  it  is  suggested  with  awful  vividness  by  a faint  crim- 
son circle  saturating  the  linen.  An  empty  locket  hangs  on  her  breast. 
A sober  supernatural  light  shines  on  the  upper  part  of  this  silent  form, 
gradually  fading  into  gray  shadow.  But  the  face  it  is  which,  after  one 
has  gazed  long  at  the  painting,  continues  to  rivet  the  eye,  and  haunts  one 
forever.  In  the  eyes,  which  seem  not  of  earth,  there  is  an  expression  of 
silent  horror  and  agony  beyond  language,  and  mingled  with  it  a re- 
proachful, pleading  expostulation  that  out  of  the  innocency  and  happiness 
of  maidenhood  she  should  have  been  torn  to  meet  such  a fate,  and  spend 
eternity  far  from  the  abodes  of  the  blessed,  while  on  the  closed  ashen 
lips  is  depicted  the  resig*nation  of  despair.  The  color  of  this  masterly 
conception  is  so  exquisitely  in  harmony  with  the  design  tliat  no  engrav- 
ing or  photograph  can  do  it  justice.  It  is  said  to  be  a favorite  work  with 
Max.  There  is  no  artist  who  so  w^ell  represents  the  hues  and  aspects  of 
the  dead.  The  painting  of  which  an  engraving  is  given  on  page  130, 
“ The  Lion’s  Bride,”  is  from  one  of  IJhland’s  poems.  It  is  perhaps  open 
to  criticism  for  its  color  and  execution  in  one  or  two  parts,  but  is  a very 
powerful  composition,  and  well  exhibits  the  great  skill  Max  also  possesses 
in  the  drawing  and  painting  of  animals.  In  the  original  work,  the  mel- 
ancholy rage,  the  opaque  sea-green  of  the  lion’s  eye,  are  painted  with 
unique  resemblance  to  nature.  Many  will  doubtless  remember  the  very 
touching  composition  which  has  recently  become  known  in  America 
through  a photograph  taken  from  it.  A young  girl,  a Christian  martyr, 
has  just  been  left  to  the  tigers  in  the  arena  of  the  Coliseum.  The  wild 
beasts  are  fawning  about  her  before  tearing  her  to  pieces,  while  a tiger 
rushes  forth  with  o.pen  jaws  from  the  den.  At  this  supreme  moment  of 
existence  some  pitying  soul  amidst  the  throng  above  drops  a llower  fui- 
tively  at  her  feet,  as  a sign  that  one,  at  least,  is  there  to  offer  up  a ])rayer 
and  drop  a tear  for  her  as  she  meets  her  doom.  She,  in  her  helpless- 
ness, leans  against  the  wall,  and  looks  up  to  see  who  it  is,  wondering  that 
there  is  any  one  left  in  a cruel  world  to  pity  the  lonely  victim  of  a blood- 
thirsty generation.  This  painting  is  by  Gabriel  Max,  one  of  the  greatest 
poets  of  the  age,  for  his  paintings  are  indeed  tragic  poems  dealing  with 
human  destiny. 

We  ])ass,  by  a natural  transition,  to  the  (jenre  painters  of  the  iUunicb 
School,  and  hei’c  we  find  a large  number  of  very  excellent  artists.  De- 


134 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


fregger  lias  justly  earned  a foremost  position  for  compositions  taken  from 
peasant  life.  Truth  to  nature,  admirable  color,  texture,  and  character,  all 
seem  to  be  his  in  equal  proportions.  He  selects  many  of  his  subjects 
from  the  picturesque  life  of  tlie  Tyrol,  and  each  one  of  his  paintings  is  in- 


rUANZ  DEFREGGEK. 


spired  by  a distinct  individuality  of  its  own.  We  are  not  constantly  con- 
fronted by  the  same  faces  doing  service  in  different  jDictures,  a weakness 
too  common  with  some  artists,  but  every  composition  seems  a new  con- 
ception ; Defregger  finds  the  phases  of  human  nature  so  infinitely  various 
that  he  rarely  repeats  himself.  He  seems  also  to  have  a keen  insight  into 
the  character  of  animals,  and  the  action  and  expression  of  his  dogs  and 
horses  appear  almost  hmnan. 

Nicholas  Gysis  is  by  birth  a Greek,  but  his  art  life  and  methods  are  so 
entirely  German  that  he  may  with  propriety  be  included  among  the  ar- 
tists of  the  Munich  School.  His  color  seems  scarcely  inferior  to  that  of 
Decamps  in  the  rendering  of  Oriental  scenes,  while  his  native  familiarity 
wdth  them  has  given  him  remarkable  skill  in  catching  the  traits  of  Eastern 
character.  One  of  his  paintings,  “A  Thief  carried  on  a Donkey  through 
the  Bazaai’S  of  Smyrna,”  is  justly  meritorious  for  vivid  characterization 
and  local  spirit,  and  is  deliciously  mirth-inspiring,  while  the  painting  rep 


GRUTZNER—DIEZ— BRANDT. 


13T 


resenting  a little  Greek  girl  at  lier  first  confession  is  quite  winning  for  its 
suggestions  of  simple  pathos. 

Albert  Keller  and  Alois  Galb  are  artists  of  decided  promise  in  the 
delineation  of  domestic  scenes.  Another  of  the  very  clever  painters  of 
the  genre  school  of  Munich  is  Eduard  Griitzner.  Like  Chevilliard,  of 
Paris,  lie  makes  a specialty  of  hitting  ofi  the  human  nature  wdiich  church- 
men retain  even  after  they  have  donned  the  cowl  and  cassock  and  for- 
sworn the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  He  is  very  acute  in  seizing  certain  expres- 
sions of  the  countenance,  and  his  satire  is  not  too  severe  to  impair  tlie 
exquisite  sense  of  humor  conveyed  in  his  graphic  compositions.  But  he 
is  strono;er  in  drawing  than  in  color. 

Wilhelm  Diez,  a professor  in  the  Academy  at  Munich,  in  the  render- 
ing of  genre  with  horses  and  landscape  holds  a position  entirely  alone, 
having  a style  crisp  and  full  of  freshness  and  originality,  and  resembling 
that  of  no  other  artist.  He  is  very  difficult  to  please,  sometimes  entirely 
painting  out  a finished  work.  As  a designer  for  periodicals  and  books, 
Diez  show^s  a fertile  imagination,  and  has  produced  thousands  of  charm- 
ing illustrations.  This  has  probably  quickened  a memory  and  observa- 
tion naturally  strong ; and  thus,  like  Turner  and  several  other  artists  simi- 
larly constituted,  he  does  not  depend  wholly  on  color  studies  for  his  com- 
positions, and  yet  few  excel  him  in  giving  a feeling  of  nature.  His  horses 
could  only  be  drawn  by  a man  of  genius. 

Joseph  Brandt  is  another  of  these  masters  who  overwhelm  us  with  the 
wealth  of  the  artistic  work  now  turned  out  in  Munich.  He  is  a Pole  by 
birth,  a German  in  art  education.  His  subjects  are  always  chosen  from 
the  steppes  of  the  Ukraine  or  the  Crimea,  desolate,  but  drearily  pict- 
uresque. The  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  the  gaunt,  nervous,  wiry,  many- 
colored  steeds  they  spur  to  rapine  and  Avar — these  are  Avhat  he  gives  us, 
either  in  groups  of  three  or  four,  or  whole  squadrons  marching  across  the 
russet  ocean-like  v^astes  overarched  by  leaden  skies.  Ho  artist  of  the  age 
is  his  superior  in  the  technical  requirements  of  his  art,  while  the  spirit,  in- 
dividuality, character,  and  tone  Avith  Avhich  each  horse  and  each  rider  is 
given  disarm  criticism,  and  magically  transport  one  to  the  Avild  scenes  he 
represents  so  Av^ell. 

Of  animal  painters  there  are,  besides  Diez  and  Hrandt,  a number 
Avorthy  extended  notice;  Ave  can  allude  to  but  one  or  tAvo.  Wagner  is 
Avell  knoAvn  in  America  by  photogra])hs  of  his  “ Bonian  Chariot  Pace," 


138 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


and  also  by  tlie  coj)y,  inferior  in  color  to  the  original  painting,  which  was 
exhibited  in  Philadelphia  last  year.  He  is  a pupil  of  Piloty,  and  has  been 
for  some  years  a professor  at  Mnnich.  ‘‘  Pacing  among  the  Horse-herders 
of  Hebreczin”  is  another  highly  dramatic  composition  by  this  artist,  and 
more  natural  and  interesting  than  the  ambitions  bnt  somewliat  artificial 
scene  suggested  by  the  arena  of  the  Poman  classic  period.  He  seems 
to  be  encroaching  on  the  field  of  that  great  painter  of  horses,  Adolphe 
Schreyer,  who  resides  at  Frankfort  on  the  Main,  belonging  to  no  especial 
school,  and  now  past  his  prime.  As  a vigorous  interpreter  of  certain 
phases  of  equine  character,  Schreyer  has  shown  immense  power. 

Anton  Braith  is  somewhat  unequal  in  his  compositions,  and  sometimes 
reminds  ns  of  Yan  Marke,  that  great  pnpil  of  Troy  on.  But  in  saying 
this  we  would  not  deny  him  decided  originality  and  power  of  his  own. 
He  sometimes  draws  and  paints  cattle  with  great  force  and  fidelity  to 
nature.  What  spirit  and  truth  are  evident  in  the  composition  Calves 
Peturning  Home,”  of  Avhich  we  give  an  excellent  engraving.  Ziigel  is 
still  a young  man,  like  many  of  those  already  mentioned,  and  will  give 
the  world  yet  better  things  than  he  has  already  done : he  is  not  yet  the 
equal  of  Jacques,  the  Frenchman,  but  in  a just  rendering  of  the  values, 
with  a true  feeling  for  nature,  he  deserves  an  excellent  rank. 

Bodenmiiller  is  a rising  artist,  who  is  strong  in  painting  battle  scenes, 
especially  of  the  late  war.  But  Franz  Adam  is  undoubtedly  the  ablest 
battle  - painter  of  the  present  German  School.  It  is  not  so  much  every 
strap  and  button,  sabre  or  bridle,  that  he  seeks  to  delineate  with  martinet- 
like precision — which  seems  to  be  the  chief  ambition  of  most  battle-paint- 
ers— but,  overcome  rather  by  the  terror,  the  fnry,  the  j:>athos,  the  sub- 
limity of  a great  tragedy  upon  which  hangs  the  fate  of  men  and  empires, 
where  blood  and  tears  are  shed  to  work  out  the  All  Father’s  plans  for  the 
ultimate  destiny  of  the  race,  inspired  by  the  grand  causes  and  results  of 
the  conflict,  and  the  consciousness  that  it  is  souls,  and  not  mere  bayonets 
and  guns,  that  are  there  rushing  together  in  the  tremendous  rage  of  war, 
he  omits  the  minor,  non-essential  details  to  give  us  an  impression  of  the 
general  effect.  He  groups  in  masses  surging  across  the  field  with  vast 
energy,  and  draws  with  rapid,  impetuous  strokes  that  make  the  scene 
actual  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 

As  regards  landscape-painting  in  Munich,  there  is  less  proportionate 
attention  given  to  it  than  by  the  Euglish  and  French  artists,  and  what 


CALVES  RETURNING  HOME. BRAITH 


LIER— BOCKLIN. 


141 


is  done  is  less  generally  satisfactory ; it  is  more  artificial  and  conventional. 
Bnt  there  are  several  notable  exceptions.  Adolf  Lier  is  inspired  by  a 
subtle  sympatliy  with  nature.  lie  has  a fine  feeling  for  her  various 
aspects  ; to  him  she  seems  to  sing  the  everlasting  minor  hymn  of  the  ages 
that  sweeps  sadly  over  the  sere  fields  in  the  plaintive,  melancholy  days  of 
October,  when  the  birds  are  flown,  the  flowers  are  faded,  and  the  dying 
year,  drawing  to  its  end,  symbolizes  the  brevity  of  life  below. 

Mezgoly  is  also  deserving  of  more  than  a passing  allusion  as  a land- 
scape-painter, while  Ilans  Thoma  interprets  nature  with  eccentric  ideality. 
There  is  a strange,  suggestive  eeriness  about  his  compositions.  The  figures 
he  introduces  into  them  seem  to  indicate  the  point  of  contact  between 
the  seen  and  the  unseen  worlds.  In  the  painting  of  “ Charon  ferrying 
Souls  across  the  Styx,”  the  contrast  between  the  solemn  group  and  gloom 
in  the  foreground  and  the  supernatural  gleam  of  the  Elysian  fields  be- 
yond is  beautifully  and  impressively  expressed.  But  Thoma  appears  to 
have  been  somewhat  influenced  by  Arnold  Bdcklin,  who  might  also  be 
nearly  as  well  classed  with  some  of  the  artists  previously  noticed,  such  is 
his  versatility  and  the  parity  of  excellence  he  achieves  in  almost  every 
subject  he  undertakes.  He  has  been  painting  for  many  years,  but  for 
long  was  neither  understood  nor  appreciated.  He  was,  as  it  were,  born 
before  his  time.  Even  the  artists  considered  him  a dreamer,  and  his 
works  absurd.  How  he  ranks  with  the  first  three  or  four  living  painters 
of  Germany.  The  fact  is,  that  to  a wonderful  eye  for  form  and  color 
Bdcklin  adds  an  imagination  of  extraordinary  creative  power,  and  the 
sympathy  with  the  hidden  suggestions  of  nature  of  a Shelley,  blended 
with  the  weirdness  of  Poe  and  the  startling  mysteriousness  of  Coleridge 
or  La  Motte-Eouque.  How  he  shall  paint  you  an  imaginary  Italian 
villa  on  a rocky  ledge  by  the  sea,  which  in  long,  gray,  moaning  surges 
beats  against  the  cliff,  and  sweeps  for  evermore  into  the  hollow  caves. 
Above,  against  a sad  evening  sky,  stands  the  lonely  palace,  surrounded  by 
foliage,  amidst  which  are  seen  marble  statues,  and  on  the  extreme  edge 
of  the  low  cliff  a solemn  row  of  dark,  Druid-like  cypresses  sway  in  the 
gale.  The  only  sign  of  human  life  is  a tall,  slender  young  girl,  draped  in 
black,  standing  on  the  beach,  leaning  against  the  cliff,  with  arms  crossed 
on  her  breast,  seemingly  gazing,  forlorn,  on  the  sea,  and  musing  on  the 
transitoriness  of  human  affairs,  and  the  desolation  which  has  left  her 
there,  the  last  of  her  line. 


142 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


Then  yon  tnrn  from  this  canvas  and  see  depicted  an  idyllic  episode 
from  the  Greek  poets — a young  shepherd,  the  size  of  life,  playing  on  liis 
syrinx,  and  a wood-nymph  concealed  in  the  shrubbery  behind  listening 
to  his  love  - song.  The  next  scene  he  will  give  yon  will  be,  portrayed 
with  immense  strength,  an  anchorite  on  a narrow  ledge,  half-way  down 
the  side  of  a tremendous  precipice,  scantily  clad  in  a goat-skin,  kneeling 
before  a rude  cross  made  of  two  bouglis  bound  together  by  a vine,  and 
scourging  his  bare  back  with  knotted  cords.  Another  picture  may  be  a 
young  shepherdess  reposing  the  live-long  day  amidst  spring-time  poppies 
and  daisies,  while  her  flock  are  cpiietly  nibbling  the  herbage  at  her  side. 
Then  you  turn  once  more  to  gaze,  amazed,  on  a mermaid  and  a merman 
reposing  on  the  oozy  rocks  of  a reef,  their  limbs  covered  with  trailing 
sea-weed.  She,  leaning  over  the  ledge,  toyiugly  grasps  the  neck  of  a sea- 
serpent  magnificently  painted ; he  is  looking  seaward  and  blowing  on  a 
conch-shell.  Beyond,  the  surges  of  the  raging,  storm-beaten  sea  roll  in 
from  the  far-off  eternity  of  ocean  with  a stern,  savage  power,  and  a truth 
to  nature  such  as  I have  never  seen  surpassed.  At  an  artistic  soiree  in 
Munich,  among  otliQv  jeux  cTesjjriU  a sea-serpent  copied  from  the  one 
above  was  presented  to  Bdcklin.  Then  yon  shall  have  a windy  autumn 
evening,  the  setting  sun  striking  a golden  path  across  the  centre  of  the 
scene,  a farm-house  beyond,  a startled  horse  in  the  foreground  endeavor- 
ing to  throw  Ids  rider,  and,  above,  the  trees  swaying  with  the  surging 
blast  of  an  October  storm.  Or  it  is  Pan  piping  to  himself  among  the 
reeds  on  a river’s  bank  that  we  see  before  us,  in  the  Golden  Age  of  which 
the  poets  sing. 

Bdcklin  has  also  painted  with  success  in  distemper,  and  rivals  the 
Bossetti  School  in  their  peculiar  held  of  archaic,  fantastic,  realistic  unreal- 
ism. But  he  does  not  devote  his  talents  to  much  of  that  sort  of  work, 
in  which  his  success  serves  rather  to  display  the  more  forcibly  the  ex- 
traordinary and  versatile  character  of  his  genius.  He  painted  a portrait 
of  himself  with  a skeleton  standing  behind  him  and  directing  his  hand. 
At  the  same  time,  although  at  last  well  known  in  Germany,  and  acknowl- 
edged to  be  entitled  to  a very  high  position,  Bdcklin  can  probably  never 
be,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  a popular  artist,  for  it  requires  a cer- 
tain degree  of  art  culture  and  a mind  that  revels  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  ideal,  to  fully  perceive  his  merits.  He  is  like  certain  poets  whose 
works,  although  celebrated  far  and  wide,  are  caviare  to  the  mass  of  read- 


DANISH  MARINE  PAINTERS. 


1.1:3 


ers — Eobert  Browning,  for  example.  But  bis  influence  on  German  art  is 
perceptible  in  various  quarters. 

We  slioulcl  hardlj  expect  that  marine  painting  would  And  many  vo- 
taries in  an  inland  city  like  Munich,  five  hundred  miles  from  salt-water ; 
and  such  is  the  fact.  Yet  Schonleber  goes  down  to  the  Yorth  Sea  coast 
sometimes,  and  finds  material  for  effective  compositions  of  marine  genre 
with  fishing -boats ; and  Otto  Binding  is  a coast  painter  who  makes  one 
actually  hear  the  roar  of  the  breakers  as  they  chase  each  other  in  tumultu- 
ous masses,  and  lash  the  rocks  with  a power  that  may  be  felt.  But  like 
Glide,  of  Carlsruhe,  and  a number  of  other  marine  artists  residing  in  Ger- 
many, Binding  is  a Norwegian.  Early  associations  do  indeed  have  more 
to  do  with  the  bent  of  genius  than  we  are  always  aware.  Bometimes  it 
is  a seemingly  trifling  incident  which  turns  the  whole  current  of  thought 
at  a time  when  it  is  yet  flexible.  The  races  skirting  the  shores  of  the 
Yorth  Bea  have  produced  the  best  sailors  and  marine  art  the  world  has 
seen.  Hitherto  the  English,  but  more  especially  the  Dutch,  havm  excelled 
in  this  department,  and  have  produced  some  notable  interpreters  of  sea- 
life  and  scenery. 

But  it  remained  for  Denmark  to  claim  the  finest  school  of  marine 
painting  that  has  ever  existed.  It  is  difficnlt  to  contain  enthusiasm 
within  bounds  wdien  the  writer  recalls  the  rapture  and  surprise  with 
which  he  made  the  discovery  that  such  a magnificent  school  of  marine 
painters,  descendants  of  the  Yikings  of  old,  had  inherited  the  breezy  love 
of  the  boisterous,  ever-shifting  ocean,  still  roving  on  the  turbulent  waves, 
and  in  imagination  and  on  canvas  living  over  the  racy  career  of  their  an- 
cestors. To  be  a successful  marine  jiainter  one  should  first  have  a pas- 
sion for  the  sea — deep,  ardent,  irresistible  as  love  ; he  should  rave  about  a 
ship  as  he  would  about  a fair  woman ; the  flavor  of  tlie  salt  air  should 
fill  his  imagination  with  dreams  of  adventures ; he  should  be  a jiractical 
seaman,  crammed  with  sea  lore,  able  to  sail  a vessel,  to  distinguish  at  a 
glance  the  points  of  difference  between  the  ships  of  diverse  nations,  or 
between  any  two  vessels  of  his  own  country,  as  a student  of  human  nature 
can  distinguish  the  peculiarities  of  individual  faces  or  races;  he  should 
also  have  an  experimental  knowledge  of  Avave  forms,  or  sea  colors,  or  sea 
skies,  according  to  the  ever-varying  conditions  of  hour,  weather,  tides,  cur- 
rents, shoals,  or  geographical  location.  To  all  these  indis])ensable  (jnalifi- 
cations  the  sea  ])ainter  should  add  artistic  genius.  Barely,  indeed,  have 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


1A4 

marine  artists  existed  so  tlioroiiglilj  equipped  for  tlieir  work.  But  in 
Denmark  we  now  actually  find  not  one  or  two  isolated  marine  painters 
of  merit,  but  a national  scliool  of  consummate  artists  wlio  possess  all  the 
qualifications  enumerated  above,  yet  each  with  a style  distinct  and  in- 
dividual. Intensely  patriotic,  they  often  choose  their  subjects  from 
Danish  history,  and  thus  give  us,  not  only  sea  q>ictures,  but  also  historic 
paintings. 

This  circumstance  is  well  illustrated  by  Basmussen’s  magnificent 
painting  entitled  The  Discovery  of  Greenland  by  King  Eric  the  Bed, 
A.D.  983.”  The  solemn  twilight  of  the  polar  seas  is  illumined  by  a crim- 
son glow  in  the  west,  which  crowns  the  pinnacles  of  the  icebergs  with 
magical  splendor.  Like  a floor  of  glass,  slightly  undulating  and  refiecting 
berg  and  sky,  the  tranquil  sea  rolls  away  into  the  dim  distance.  Into 
this  lone  and  silent  scene,  which  has  repeated  itself  age  after  age,  hitherto 
unbroken  by  dash  of  oar  or  voice  of  man,  at  last  appears  the  galley  of  the 
Horsemen  majestically  gliding  towards  an  unknown  land.  The  heroes  of 
the  sea  are  clustered  on  her  decks  in  awe  and  wonder,  while  around  the 
rudder  in  her  wake  the  monsters  of  the  deep  roll  in  sportive  play,  curious 
to  learn  what  this  new  monster  can  be  which  has  at  last  intruded  into 
their  chosen  domain.  Besides  Basmussen,  a number  of  able  artists,  his 
equals  in  this  department  of  marine  painting,  may  be  mentioned  with 
high  praise.  Among  the  most  prominent  are  Bille,  Professor  Sorensen, 
W.  Melby,  Locher,  and  Heimiann.  Anton  Melby  has  suffused  his  glori- 
ous compositions  with  the  flavor  of  the  salt  waves,  with  the  exhilarating 
poetry  of  the  sea. 

Before  leaving  Munich  for  Yienna,  it  should  be  observed  that  the  kin- 
dred arts  of  sculpture  and  architecture  show  us  little  of  note  doing  there 
at  present.  Max  M^indmann,  professor  of  the  art,  is  doubtless  the  best 
sculptor  now  there,  and  some  of  his  works  are  deservedly  praised  for  their 
spirit  and  grace.  The  architecture  of  Munich  seems  passing  from  the 
severe  Italian  introduced  by  King  Ludwig  to  the  ornate  style  of  Yienna. 
The  new  Bathhaus,  or  City  Hall,  of  Munich  is,  however,  built  in  the  Ger- 
man order  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  is  externally  one  of  the  most  pictu- 
resque structures  that  have  been  erected  in  Europe  for  many  years.  It 
harmonizes  well  with  the  old  town-house  adjoining  it  on  the  same  square. 
These  two  buildings,  together  with  the  quaint  old  fountain,  the  market- 
place, and  the  stately,  majestic  towers  of  the  Cathedral  dominating  over 


FELLAH  WOMEN  AT  THE  FOUNTAIN. — MAKART. 


STAINED  GLASS— VIENNA  SCHOOL. 


147 


all,  form  one  of  tlie  most  striking  and  artistic  architectural  effects  in 
Germany. 

In  wood-engraving  a decided  improvement  is  noticeable,  not  only  in 
Munich,  but  in  other  German  art  centres.  The  hard,  cold,  repelling  style 
so  long  characteristic  of  German  wood-engraving  is  becoming  more  free, 
flowing,  and  suggestive  of  color,  allowing  the  engraver  better  to  exj^ress 
his  own  feeling  in  the  work.  ITecht  and  Waller  are  two  of  the  best  en- 
gravers now  in  Munich. 

The  royal  glass  manufactory,  which  was  so  ably  superintended  by  the 
late  Max  Emmanuel  Aimniiller,  has  been  recently  closed.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  beauty  of  some  of  the  stained -glass  work  produced  there,  com- 
parison with  mediseval  glass  windows  showed  too  plainly  that  this  is  still 
one  of  the  lost  arts.  Modern  stained  glass  manufacturers  attempt  too 
much ; they  strive  on  glass  to  imitate  the  realistic  copying  of  things  at- 
tempted with  better  success  by  the  artist  who  paints  on  canvas,  instead 
of  accepting  the  bald  fact  that  glass  is  transparent,  and  receives  color  in  a 
different  way  from  opaque  surfaces. 

• When  we  come  to  a consideration  of  the  other  schools  of  contem- 
porary German  art,  it  should  be  noted  that  many  of  them  are  offshoots 
of  the  Munich  schools,  especially  in  the  present  phase  of  their  work.  At 
Vienna  we  reach  a social  atmosphere  resembling  that  of  Paris,  and  con- 
sequently, according  to  the  inevitable  laws  which  regulate  art  develop- 
ment, there  is  a certain  resemblance  in  the  subjects  chosen  to  those  which 
distinguish  contenq3orary  French  art.  The  leading  men  there  were  called 
by  the  emperor  from  Munich,  and,  doubtless  without  any  deliberate  in- 
tention on  his  part,  they  are  just  the  artists  in  Munich  who  remind  us 
most  of  the  French,  School.  There  is  a Poyal  Academy  in  Vienna,  with 
a regular  corps  of  instructors,  and  much  good  art  will  in  time  be  the 
result.  Feuerbach  and  Makart,  both  Munich  men  by  education,  and  still 
comparatively  young,  are  among  the  prominent  instructors.  Feuerbach 
reminds  one  somewhat  of  Cabanel  in  his  style.  Ilis  color  is  cool  and 
quiet,  but  exquisitely  modulated,  although  sometimes  he  does  himself  in- 
justice in  this  respect ; and  there  are  the  same  admirable  modelling  and 
delicate  yet  effective  touch  of  the  French  artist.  Their  choice  of  subjects 
is  also  somewhat  similar,  although  the  former  occasionally  launches  out 
on  immense  canvases  with  a multitude  of  nude  figures,  as  in  his  ‘‘  Battle 
of  the  Amazons.”  Ilis  “ Iphigenia  at  Aulis”  is  a snperior  composition. 


US 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


sim2:>le,  low  in  tone,  liarmonions  in  color,  and  with  true  pathos  in  the  at- 
titude of  the  unfortunate  heroine  of  poesy,  who,  meditating  on  her  ap- 
proaching doom,  gazes  off  on  the  blue  Jfgean,  which  looks  too  beautiful 
ever  to  be  the  scene  of  such  a tragic  drama. 


HANS  MAKART. 

Ilans  Makart,  a young  man  with  coal-black  eyes  and  beard,  and  an 
Oriental  cast  of  features,  reminds  us  in  some  of  his  subjects  and  treat- 
ment of  Henri  Hegnault.  The  ^‘gorgeous  East”  has  furnished  him  many 
subjects.  He  is  undoubtedly  a man  of  very  great  technical  ability. 
There  is  a breadth  of  handling,  a boldness,  a self-reliant  power,  in  his 
paintings  which  command  attention  and  respect  at  once.  One  feels  at  a 
glance  that  he  is  in  the  presence  of  a master.  The  massiveness  of  his 
drawing  and  composition,  even  though  it  be  sometimes  defective,  the 
magnificent  dash  of  his  brush,  the  splendor  of  his  coloring,  entitle  him  to 
a ]30sition  among  the  first  artists  of  the  age.  What  imperious  majesty, 
what  suggestion  of  volcanic  passion,  are  portrayed  in  his  ‘‘  Agrippina !” 
How  the  pomps  and  glories,  the  courtly  pageants  and  Oriental  opulence, 
of  Venice,  the  cpieen  city  of  the  Middle  Ages,  are  ushered  before  us  when 
we  gaze  entranced  on  the  wonderful  painting  representing  the  “Hobles 
of  Venice  paying  Homage  to  Catherine  Cornaro !”  In  paintings  grand  as 
these  we  seem  to  find  once  more  that  wealth  of  imagination,  that  Tinto- 
retto-like fury  of  inspiration,  that  rapturous  revelling  Avith  the  creations 


ARCHITECTUEE  AT  VIENNA. 


1^9 


of  an  ideal  world  wliicli  have  given  immortality  to  the  great  masters  of 
the  Flemish  and  Italian  schools  of  the  Renaissance.  "With  gratitude  we 
welcome  an  artist  whose  works  are  inspired  by  a fervor  which  we  so 
often  miss  in  the  carefully  studied  but  frigid  compositions  of  some  of  the 
foremost  artists  of  the  contemporary  English  and  French  schools. 

H.  Canon  deservedly  occupies  a leading  position  among  the  portrait- 
painters  of  the  Viennese  School,  and  the  same  may  he  justly  said  of  Pet- 
tenkofer,  one  of  the  best-known  artists  of  that  city ; he  excels  in  genre^ 
while  Brunner  holds  a good  position  in  landscape  art. 

Probably  the  first  place  in  Germany  must  at  present  be  assigned  to 


IlKVKHl  E. RICHTER. 


Vienna  in  architecture  and  the  industrial  arts.  It  cannot  be  said  tliat  a 
new  order  of  arcliitecture  lias  been  invented  there.  In  the  present  style 
of  building  we  see  rather  an  adaptation  of  old  orders,  chi(dly  Renaissance, 


150 


CONTEMPORAKY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


displaying  Inxiirions  riclmess,  and  an  employment  of  the  caryatid  which 
is  xQYj  beantifnl,  hnt  may  he  carried  to  excess,  especially  when  the  con- 
structive principles  of  true  architectural  decoration  are  disregarded. 
Sempfer,  the  leading  architect  of  Yienna,  ranks  with  Yiollet-le-Duc  and 
Gamier,  of  Paris,  and  Spiers  and  Street,  of  London. 

Exquisite  as  is  much  of  the  iiousehold  art  of  Yienna,  it  rarely  im- 
presses one  like  the  vigorous  carvings  of  which  so  many  wonderful  speci- 
mens have  come  down  to  our  day  from  Flanders  or  ISluremhei’g  or 
France,  even  far  hack  to  the  oaken  stalls  and  canopies  of  the  choirs  and 
tomhs  of  the  earlier  periods  of  the  Middle  Ages.  What  living  artist  of 
this  description  is  there  who  can  he  mentioned  hy  the  side  of  Peter 
Yischer,  whose  shrine  over  tlie  tomh  of  St.  Sehald  eclipses  all  modern 
work  of  the  kind?  But  in  glass-ware  tlie  Yiennese  artists  can  justly 
claim  to  have  jDerhaj^s  surpassed  the  rest  of  the  world  hoth  in  design  and 
execution.  Lohmeyer  and  Co.  employ  artists  remarkably  skilled  in  de- 
sign. A set  recently  made  for  the  table  service  of  the  Emjieror  Francis 
Joseph  ranks  in  glass-ware  with  the  best  china-ware  of  Sevres  or  the 
Mintons.  We  have  seen  nothing  in  the  contemporary  ceramic  art  of 
Germany  to  equal  that  of  either  England  or  France  ; hut  the  terra-cotta 
works  of  Anton  Grassl,  at  Munich,  are  very  praiseworthy,  and  the  same 
may  he  said  of  the  majolica-Avare  of  Fleischmann  at  hTuremherg. 

The  school  at  Diisseldorf  is  probably  better  known  in  America  than 
any  other  in  Germany.  Twenty-five  years  ago  it  was  already  in  its  prime, 
and  a number  of  its  artists — men  of  ability  they  were,  too — had  settled 
in  the  United  States,  and  painted  some  of  our  historic  scenes.  Its  cele- 
brated gallery  of  paintings  has  always  given  it  imjDortance,  and  such  men 
as  Andreas  Achenbach  have  sustained  its  dignity  to  this  day.  But  it  has 
been  with  regret  that  art  lovers  have  perceived  that  conventionalism  was 
stealing  into  that  art  hold,  and  impairing  the  value  of  the  work  even  of 
some  of  its  best  artists  to  that  degree  that  it  has  become  at  last  a by-word 
to  say  of  an  artist  that  he  painted  in  the  Diisseldorf  style.  A method 
which  may  have  real  merit  while  fresh  and  original  becomes  conventional 
when  scores  and  hundreds  of  artists  gradually  settle  down  to  copying  that 
style,  thus  showing  that  they  look  at  nature  through  the  eyes  of  others, 
instead  of  realizing  in  their  practice  that  there  are  innumerable  truths  in 
nature,  and  that  each  artist  should  interpret  those  truths  in  his  own  hand- 
writing. But  the  influence  of  Paris,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Munich, 


DUSSELDORF— BERLIN. 


151 


on  the  other,  has  at  last  become  perceptible  at  Dlisseldorf ; and  men  of 
perhaps  no  greater  powers  than  those  they  supersede  are  now  working 
there  in  a truer  manner,  and  the  resnlts  are  sometimes  admirable. 

Andreas  Achenbach,  great  alike  in  landscaj^e  and  coast  scenes,  is  now 
growing  old,  and  at  the  same  time  is  so  well  known  at  home  that  we  do 
not  need  more  than  to  allude  to  him.  Normann,  a ^N^orwegian,  gives  ns 
the  magnificent  coast  scenery  of  his  native  land  with  much  vigor  and 
freshness ; while  Diicker,  who  is  also  a j)ainter  of  coast  and  landscape,  is 
an  artist  whose  tone  and  touch  and  resemblance  to  nature  in  his  canvases 
place  him  among  the  foremost  painters  of  the  age  in  that  line.  Wilroider 
and  Fahrbach  are  also  strong  in  landscape ; and  Mundt,  in  the  delinea- 
tion of  quiet,  russet  autumn  and  winter  landscapes,  with  leafiess  trees  and 
spirited  groups  of  cattle,  rightly  holds  a very  high  position.  In  genre, 
among  many,  we  can  only  allude  to  Yautier  as  an  artist  well  known  in 
Germany  for  his  genius  ; and  we  might  also  speak  of  Knaus,  hut  he  has 
been  recently  called  to  the  Royal  Academy  at  Berlin,  which  is  some  indi- 
cation of  the  estimate  placed  on  his  powers  by  his  countrymen.  Oswald 
Achenbach  also  shows  strength  in  genre  with  landscape. 

In  Carlsruhe  is  a Royal  Academy,  presided  over  by  such  able  artists  as 
Ferdinand  Keller,  a genre  painter,  and  Hans  Gude,  who  excels  in  vigor- 
ous representations  of  coast  and  sea.  At  Stuttgart  there  is  an  Academy 
under  government  patronage,  and  also  an  art  society,  established  for  tlie 
purpose  of  encouraging  historical  painting  in  Germany.  It  is  open  to 
all  subscribers,  and  the  sovereigns  of  the  different  states  of  tlie  empire 
are  among  the  number.  Circulars  are  sent  annually  to  the  artists  invit- 
ing them  to  enter  works  for  competition.  Those  intending  to  contribute 
send  a color  sketch  to  the  superintending  committee.  If  it  is  approved, 
the  larger  painting  follows,  and  is  submitted  to  examination.  Once  a 
year  an  exhibition  is  held,  and  certain  paintings  are  purchased  from  the 
general  fund,  and  then  disposed  of  by  lottery  to  the  subscribei's. 

At  Berlin  we  find  the  most  interesting  art  school  in  Germany,  after 
that  of  Munich — valuable  not  only  for  wdiat  its  artists  are  now  doing, 
but  for  the  rich  promise  it  holds  forth.  Without  in  the  least  derogating 
from  the  just  claims  and  merits  of  the  Munich  Academy,  it  appears 
to  us,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  the  Berlin  School  must  ere  long 
equal  it  in  the  average  quality  of  its  art,  and  surpass  it  as  a representa- 
tive national  school.  For  at  Munich,  through  a gradual  process,  they  seem 


152 


CONTEMPORAEY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


to  be  approaching  the  harvest  period  of  matiiritj  according  to  the  gen- 
eral laws  which  govern  huinan  affairs;  the  next  change  there  must  be 
towards  a new  order  of  things. 

At  Berlin,  on  the  other  hand,  a new  school  is  now  entering  its  career, 
and  going  on  towards  its  legitimate  results ; while  the  growing  impor- 


tance of  Berlin,  tending  to  make  it  the  centre  of  Germanic  influences,  will 
also  as  surely  attract  the  artists  thither  more  and  more  until  it  becomes 
in  turn  the  art  capital  of  Germany  and,  for  a time  perhaps,  of  the  Con- 
tinent. Every  attention  is  also  employed  to  encourage  art  progress,  and 
artists  hold  a social  position  there  hardly  yet  granted  to  them  in  England, 
notwithstanding  the  traditional  strictness  with  which  rank  distinctions  are 
preserved  in  Germany.  This  may  be  partly  owing  to  the  circumstance 
that  several  members  of  the  royal  family  are  practical  artists,  and  that  the 
Crown  Princess  herself  condescends  to  exhibit  works  from  her  own  hand 
in  the  art  expositions.  The  Boyal  Academy  has  also  been  recently  en- 
tirely reorganized,  and  furnished  with  an  able  corps  of  professors,  includ- 
ing also  a chair  of  Ijelles-lettres  ; and  a sj^steni  of  biennial  exhibitions  has 
been  established  that  will  be  of  great  value  as  a stimulus  to  German  art. 
These  exhibitions  are  opened  in  August,  and  continue  until  l^ovember, 
and  gold  medals  are  awarded  to  the  most  meritorious  works  offered  in  all 
the  departments  of  art.  The  second  one  was  held  in  1876. 


LUDWIG  KNAUS. 


RICHTER— BECKER. 


153 


Some  artists  of  very  great  power  are  now  imparting  dignity  to  the 
Berlin  School,  and  the  number  is  continually  increasing.  AVhile  there  is 
in  most  cases  a distinct  individuality  preserved  among  them  in  style  and 
subject,  they  are  generally  distinguished  for  a good  perception  of  color, 
careful  drawing,  close  study  of  nature,  and  an  earnestness  in  a considera- 
tion of  the  true  relations  of  art  to  society  and  the  problems  of  human 
existence  which,  on  the  one  hand,  enables  them  to  threaten  French  art 
with  a powerful  rivalry  in  its  strongest  point — technical  art — and,  on  the 
other  hand,  places  them  above  the  French  School,  and  quite  on  a level 
with  the  best  English  art. 

Bicliter  and  Becker  are  both  professors  and  fellows  of  the  Boyal 
Academy  of  Berlin,  and  are  probably  among  the  German  artists  most 
known  in  America,  the  former  by  chromos  of  his  paintings,  the  latter  by 
works  in  private  galleries.  They  are  men  of  very  decided  ability,  and 


IN  A THOUSAND  ANXIKTIKS. KNAUS. 


similar  in  artistic  traits,  although  generally  handling  different  subjects: 
they  deal  chiefly  with  the  dashing  and  more  obvious  effects  of  brilliant 
combinations  of  color,  rather  than  with  the  more  subtle  and  perhaps  in- 
tellectual harmonies  of  quiet  grays.  Each  style  has  its  merits,  and  to  de- 


15i 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


cry  one  because  it  is  not  tlie  other,  is  about  as  sensible  as  to  rail  at  Italian 
music  because  it  is  not  German.  It  does  not  aim  at  the  same  effect ; it 
appeals,  perhaps,  to  a different  audience,  certainly  to  a different  set  of 
emotions ; but  it  has  its  merits,  for  all  that.  There  is,  however,  some- 
times perceptible  what  is  termed  a certain  ‘‘sweetness”  in  the  style  of 
both  of  these  artists  which  is  not  cpiite  so  pleasing  to  the  artistic  eye  of 
some  as  more  vigorous  treatment,  and  one  soon  cloys  with  their  pictures 
because  of  a certain  sensuousness  apparent  in  most  of  them.  Of  the  two, 
Richter  seems  to  us  the  abler  artist ; some  of  his  portraits  and  ]3oetic 
studies  of  Oriental  character  are  very  rich,  and  of  a nature  to  be  more 
popular  tlian  are  the  works  of  some  much  greater  painters. 

Professor  Gussow,  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin,  ranks  high  in  portrai- 
ture ; he  is  also  successful  sometimes  in  genre.  His  treatment  and  ren- 
dering of  character  are  often  just,  and  in  some  respects  admirable.  But 
in  almost  all  his  faces  there  is  a certain  spot,  a gloss,  where  the  light 
strikes  on  the  countenance,  which  he  evidently  considers  a great  beauty, 
for  he  contrives  to  bring  it  into  every  painting  of  his  we  have  seen.  It 
is  certainly  peculiar  to  his  works,  and  may  perhaps  be  sometimes  a beauty 
in  nature ; but  as  he  represents  it  with  a dab  of  crude  white,  it  enables 
the  observer  to  realize  as  never  before  the  cpiestionable  advantages  of  the 
pearl-2)Owder  so  universally  found  on  the  toilet-table  of  the  ladies  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Ludwio;  Knaus,  called  from  Dlisseldorf  to  assume  a chair  in  the 
Academy  at  Berlin,  is  naturally  one  of  the  ablest  artists  in  Germany.  In 
methods  perhaps  slightly  behind  some  of  the  younger  men  of  the  Ger- 
man School,  he  is,  notwithstanding,  an  artist  of  a very  high  order  in  genre. 
Older  than  Defregger,  of  Munich,  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  younger 
})ainter  has  surpassed  the  former  in  masterly  re2>resentations  of  human 
character.  The  humorous  and  the  pathetic  are  treated  by  him  with  equal 
success.  Take,  for  example,  the  every-day  domestic  scene,  of  which  a cut 
is  given,  “ In  a Thousand  Anxieties,”  as  one  j^hase  of  his  genius ; another 
jhiase  is  well  indicated  by  his  wonderfully  touching  and  dramatic  painting 
entitled  “A  Country  Funeral.”  But  while  Knaus  may  be  said  to  have 
made  a specialty  of  subjects  taken  from  peasant  life,  he  is  also  successful 
in  other  directions.  His  “Holy  Family”  may  be  instanced  as  a very  beau- 
tiful production.  Here  we  have  a mediseval  subject,  already  painted  a 
thousand  times,  but  once  more  reproduced  with  a freshness  of  fancy,  a 


TIIIC  LAST  SUPTKR. — VON  GKBIIAIIDT. 


P: 


r 


I 


ill 


% 


VON  WERNER— SPANGENBERG. 


157 


ricliiiess  of  color,  and  an  adaptation  to  modern  thought  that  bring  the  old, 
old  story  before  ns  as  if  it  had  never  been  told  before. 

Menzel  is  another  of  the  very  able  men  vdio  lend  importance  to  the* 
Berlin  School.  In  black  and  white,  aquarelle  and  oil-colors,  he  seems 
equally  strong.  Endowed  with  a vivid  imagination,  his  facility  in  group- 
ing masses  of  figures  and  seizing  character  is  quite  original  and  wonder- 
ful. He  is  also  well  known  as  an  illustrator.  Passini,  who  should  not  be 
confounded  with  Pasini  of  Paris,  is  widely  and  justly  celebrated  as  a con- 
summate artist  in  water-color  representations  of  Italian  life.  Camphausen 
and  Bleibtreu  are  artists  of  ability  in  figure-painting.  The  latter,  a pro- 
fessor in  the  Academy,  has  executed  a very  striking  representation  of  the 
meeting  of  Generals  Yon  Moltke  and  AYliimpfen  discussing  the  terms  of 
the  surrender  at  Sedan. 

Anton  Yon  Werner,  although  still  a young  man,  is  already  Director 
of  the  Boyal  Academy  at  Berlin.  He  is  one  of  the  first  of  living  histor- 
ical painters.  To  a correct  eye  for  color  and  drawing  he  adds  a grandeur 
of  style  very  aj^propriate  in  an  artist  who  is  court  painter  for  the  Ger- 
manic Empire.  Some  of  his  decorative  works  are  characterized  by  a 
happy  combination  of  breadth,  harmonious  color,  and  energetic  action. 
But  the  work  that  has  added  most  to  his  celebrity  is  a picture  which 
illustrates  the  proclamation  of  the  German  Empire  in  the  sumptuous 
Galerie  des  Glaces,  at  the  palace  of  Yersailles.  It  was  presented  by  the 
different  sovereigns  of  the  empire  to  Frederick  Wilhelm  on  his  eightieth 
birthday.  The  canvas  is  twenty-five  feet  long  and  fifteen  feet  high,  and 
the  artist  spent  six  years  in  completing  it.  He  was  himself  present  on 
the  occasion  represented,  and  has  introduced  his  own  portrait  into  the 
painting,  which  inclpdes  over  two  hundred  figui-es,  three-fourths  of  whom 
are  illustrious  heroes  and  statesmen  who  were  2>i‘osent  at  one  of  the  most 
memorable  events  in  the  history  of  Germany. 

Gustave  S])angenberg,  also  a ])rofessor  in  the  Academy,  is  a man  of 
serious  as])irations,  whose  imagination  deals  with  the  burden  of  life  which 
oppresses  so  many,  thoroughly  Germanic  in  his  mental  characteristics. 
His  painting  entitled  Death’s  Train,”  for  which  he  received  the  gold 
medal,  is  a work  of  singnlar  originality  and  ])ower.  On  a desolate  moor, 
overhung  by  a gray  sky,  the  procession  is  seen.  In  the  foreground  is  the 
grim  skeleton  Death  in  the  sombre  garb  of  a monk,  the  cowl  drawn  over 
his  skull.  By  his  side  walk  children  of  various  ages,  pathetic  beauty  in 


158 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


their  infantile  faces.  Behind  follow  the  bride  in  her  bridal  veil,  Kaiser 
and  23easant,  maiden  and  matron,  all  classes  and  conditions,  mystically 
robed  in  the  costume  of.  the  Middle  Ages,  until  the  long  train  gradually 
fades  away  in  the  dim  distance.  Death  rings  a hell  for  the  next  one  to 
fall  into  the  ranks,  and  a handsome  youth  in  the  foreground  of  the  scene, 
hearing  the  inexorable  summons,  tears  himself  away  from  his  weeping 
bride ; while  on  the  other  side  of  Death  an  aged  woman,  bereft  of  all  that 
made  earth  dear,  vainly  stretches  out  her  withered  arms,  beseeching  that 
she  might  be  summoned  instead. 

Yon  Gebhardt,  another  young  ]3ainter  of  Berlin,  has  won  extraordi- 
nary success  in  a similar  direction,  and  if  he  continues  as  he  lias  begun, 
will  do  much  to  enable  German  art  to  maintain  for  long  the  position  it 
is  gaining  in  contemporary  European  art.  An  engraving  of  one  of  his 
ablest  works  is  given  on  page  155.  We  do  not  remember  a representa- 
tion of  the  ‘‘Last  Supper”  which  shows  a more  powerful  realization  of 
the  vast  and  conflicting  emotions  which  shook  the  souls  of  those  who 
met  together  in  that  memorable  hour  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 

The  sculpture  department  of  the  Berlin  Academy  includes  a number 
of  artists  of  distinguished  ability,  and  in  this  direction  Berlin  seems  at 
present  to  lead  the  other  German  schools.  We  can  only  allude  to  Begas, 
professor  in  the  Academy,  Brunow,  Hartzer,  Moser,  Beusch,  Simmering, 
and  Wolff.  The  latter,  also  a professor  in  the  Academy,  designed  the 
magnificent  bronze  equestrian  monument  to  Frederick  Willliam  III., 
which  has  just  been  opened  to  public  inspection.  Architecture  in  Berlin 
offers  nothing  very  striking;  but  the  new  Gymnasium,  chiefly  in  red 
brick,  indicates  a step  in  the  right  direction.  If  not  after  a new  order,  it 
is  a very  happy  adaptation  of  old  styles  to  modern  uses. 

It  must  be  evident  from  this  survey  of  contemporary  German  art  that 
it  is  entitled  to  very  careful  and  respectful  consideration,  both  on  the  part 
of  artists  and  amateurs.  In  taking  a retrospect  of  the  whole  question 
of  contemporary  art  in  Europe,  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  French 
government,  instead  of  offering  a prize  of  five  thousand  francs  for  the 
best  essay  to  show  what  renders  contemporary  French  art  pre-eminent 
beyond  other  schools  of  the  day,  might  better  have  offered  a prize  for  an 
explanation  of  the  causes  wdiich  enable  the  art  of  Germany,  five  liundred 
years  after  she  first  produced  an  art  school,  to  rival  French  art  in  tech- 
nical qualities,  and  to  surpass  it  in  imagination  and  moral  grandeur. 


EUYOIE, 


159 


Further  reflection  uj)on  the  subject  suggests  that  while  there  is  much 
to  admire  and  arouse  our  emulation  in  the  present  condition  of  European 
art,  when  the  relations  it  holds  to  the  future  of  American  art  are  exam- 
ined, the  characteristic  which,  more  than  all  others,  merits  the  thoughtful 


STATUE  OF  FIIEUERICK  WILLIAM  III. ALREIIT  WOLFF. 


and  impartial  consideration  of  our  artists  is  the  sturdiness  with  wliich  each 
Euro])can  school  of  art  preserves  its  own  national  identity.  The  best 
modern  art,  the  truest  art  of  all  ages  and  climes,  has  been  that  which  has 


160 


CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  EUROPE. 


been  most  faitliful  to  the  instincts  of  the  period  and  race  which  gave  it 
birth.  This  truth  cannot  be  too  often  nor  too  strongly  emphasized. 

If,  therefore,  we  desire  to  see  a worthy  national  school  of  art  spring 
np  in  onr  land,  let  ns  first  of  all  be  true  to  ourselves.  By  all  means  let 
the  study  of  foreign  contemporary  and  ancient  art  be  pursued ; but  the 
notion  that  onr  native  methods  and  native  ideas  and  culture  can  never 
equal  those  of  the  Old  World  should  be  frowned  upon  as  not  only  unpa- 
triotic, but  unreasonable,  until  proved  by  a longer  experience.  What  for- 
eign or  antique  art  had  the  Greeks  to  study  when  they  produced  the 
most  perfect  architecture  and  sculpture  ever  created  ? It  is  by  depend- 
ing upon  their  own  native  resources  that  the  English,  French,  and  Ger- 
man schools  have  ever  achieved  anything  in  art.  It  is  by  not  being 
ashamed  of  home  art  that  the  governments  and  art  patrons  of  Europe 
have  given  art  the  stimulus  it  required  to  raise  it  from  a low,  struggling 
condition  to  the  point  where  it  has  become  a source  of  wealth  to  a people 
and  a crown  of  glory. 

Such  an  art,  noble,  elevating,  and  progressive — the  art  of  the  future 
— will  come  to  us  when  w^e  learn  to  concern  ourselves  less  with  the 
methods  and  more  with  the  principles  upon  which  the  greatest  art  of 
ancient  and  modern  times  is  founded. 


I N I)  E X 


I._CONTEMPOEAKY  AET  IN  ENGLAND. 


Albert  Memorial,  49. 

Animal-painters,  40. 

Ansdell,  R.,  40. 

Areliitecture  and  Architects,  50. 

Armitage,  E.,  22,  28. 

Art  Clubs  and  Associations  of  Great  Britain,  18. 
Art  Criticism,  17. 

Art  Critics,  17. 

Art  Directory  of  the  United  Kingdom,  14. 

Art  Moralists,  29. 

Art  Schools  under  Government  Patronage,  23. 
Artists’  Relief  Funds,  17. 

Atkinson,  J.  B.,  17. 

Battle-painting,  37. 

Beavis,  R.,  35. 

Bethnal  Green,  Museum  of,  23. 

Blackburn,  H.,  17,  21. 

Boughton,  G.  H.,  29. 

Brett,  J.,  40. 

Broughton,  Mrs.  E.,  55. 

Butler,  Mrs.  (Miss  Elizabeth  Thompson),  37. 

Ceramic  Art,  52. 

Christie  and  Manson’s  Art  Rooms,  18. 

Cole,  G.,  40. 

Cole,  V.,  40. 

Coleman,  C.,  55.  v 

Commyns  Carr,  J.  W.,  17. 

Cooke,  E.  W.,  42. 

(h'ane,  W.,  27. 

Davis,  II.  W.  B.,  UK 
Dawson,  E.,  42. 

I)e  Morgan,  G.,  55. 

Dicksee,  F.,  22. 

Doulton  Potteries,  50. 

Dudley  Gallery,  1 9. 

Duncan,  1).,  4 2. 


Elmore,  A.,  33. 

England,  Present  Condition  of  Contemporary  Art 
in,  14,  17. 

Faed,  j.,  31. 

Faed,  T.,  31. 

Fildes,  S.  L.,  32. 

Fisher,  M.,  41. 

Foley,  II.,  49. 

Foster,  B.,  41. 

Frith,  W.  P.,  33. 

Genre  Painting,  30. 

Gilbert,  Sir  J.,  19,  35. 

Goodall,  E.  A.,  28. 

Gow,  A.  C.,  35. 

Graham,  P.,  40. 

Grant,  Sir  F.,  19,  27. 

Grosvenor  Gallery,  26. 

Haag,  C.,  36. 

Ilamerton,  P.  G.,  17. 

Herkomer,  H.,  33. 

Historical  Painting,  33. 

Holl,  F.,  32. 

Hook,  J.  C.,  41. 

Household  Art,  50. 

Hunt,  II.,  27. 

Inns  of  Court,  51. 

Jennings,  E.,  41. 

.loncs,  E.  B.,  25,  27. 

Eandscape  Art,  40. 

Leighton,  F.,  43,  44. 

Leitch,  J.,  42. 

Leslie,  G.,  33,  43. 

Lewis,  .1.  F.,  30. 


11 


162 


INDEX. 


Lindsay,  Sir  C.,  26,  27. 

London  University,  Art  School  of,  19. 
Long,  E.,  27. 

Lord  Mayor’s  Dinner  to  the  Artists^  17. 

Macbeth,  R.  W.,  29. 

Maclise,  I).,  37. 

Majolica,  55. 

Marine  Fainting,  42. 

Marks,  H.  S.,  34. 

Mason,  G.,  31. 

McWhirter,  J.,  40. 

Millais,  J.  E.,  17,  40,  43. 

Minton’s  Porcelain,  55. 

Mole,  J.  IL,41. 

Moore,  H.,  42. 

Naftel,  P.  j.,  41. 

Orohardson,  W.  Q.,  33. 

Unless,  W.  W.,  17,  43,  44. 

Pettie,  j,,  34,  43. 

Portrait-painting,  43. 

Poynter,  E.  J.,  19,  22,  43,  45. 

Princep,  V.  C.,  34. 


Read,  S.,  43. 

Roberts,  T.,  28. 

Romantic  School,  24. 

Rossetti,  D.  G.,  17,  25. 

Royal  Academy,  19 ; Exhibitions  of,  21 ; Art 
Training  School  of,  22. 

Ruskin,  J.,  17. 

Sant,  J.,  43. 

Sculpture  and  Sculptors,  46. 

Severn,  A.,  43. 

South  Kensington  Museum,  22  ; Number  of  Pu 
pils  of,  23  ; Art  Library  of,  23. 

Stephens,  E.  B.,  46. 

Stevens,  A.,  46. 

Stone,  M.,  34. 

Street,  H.,  51. 

Terra-cotta,  LTse  of,  in  Architecture,  52. 
Thompson,  E.,  37. 

Thorburn,  A.,  28. 

Tinworth,  G.,  56. 

Walker,  F.,  31,  41. 

Wedgwood,  J.,  Monument  to,  52. 
Wedgwood-ware,  52. 


IL— CONTEMPORARY  ART  IN  FRANCE. 


Academie  des  Beaux  Arts,  65. 
Allonge,  A.,  80. 

Alma  Tadema,  24,  98. 
Animal-painting,  90. 

Architecture  and  Architects,  105, 
Art  Clubs  of  Paris,  73. 

Art  Critics,  75. 

Art  Publications,  74. 

Art  Schools  of  Paris,  71. 

Art  Students,  73. 

Barye,  a.  L.,  104. 

Battle-painters,  99. 

Baudry,  P.,  25,  109. 

Belly,  L.  A.  A.,  100. 

Bernier,  C.,  85. 

Bonheur,  A.,  91. 

Bonheur,  L,  91. 

Bonheur,  Rosa  A.,  91. 


Bonnat,  L.,  72,  73,  78,  95. 

Bouguereau,  W.,  95. 

Breton,  J.  A.,  92. 

Budget  for  Art  Purposes,  64. 

Cabanel,  a.,  65,  95. 

Carpeaux,  J.  B.,  104. 

Ceramic  Art,  110. 

Cercle  Artisticpie  et  Litteraire,  74. 

Cercle  de  1’ Union  Artistique,  73. 

Chaplin,  C.,  72,  95. 

Chapu,  H.  M.  A.,  103. 

Chevilliard,  V.,  101. 

Chintreuil,  A.,  69,  84. 

Corot,  J.  B.  C,,  85,  86,  90 ; Maxims  of,  87. 

Dalou,  j.,  104. 

Danish  Pottery,  112. 

Daubigny,  C.  F.,  85. 


INDEX. 


163 


Detaille,  E.,  100. 

Dore,  G.,  77,  81. 

Dupre,  J.,  83. 

Duran,  C.,  95. 

Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  Go. 
Engraving  and  Engravers,  80. 
Escosura,  L.,  95. 

Figure-painters,  94. 

Frere,  E.,  91. 

Fromentin,  E.,  101. 

Fusin,  Use  of,  80. 

Garnier,  a.,  lOG. 

Gavarni,  P.,  80. 

Genre  Painting,  91. 

Gerome,  J.  L.,  65, 78,  9G. 
Government  Patronage  of  Art,  G4. 
Guillaume,  C.  J.  B.  E.,  103. 

Harfignies,  H.,  85. 

Ilaviland,  C.  F.,  111. 

Historical  Painters,  95. 

Hotel  Drouot,  71. 

ISABEY,  E.,  83. 

Jacques,  C.  E.,  84,  90. 

Lalanne,  M.,  80. 

Lambinet,  E.,  85. 

Landelle,  C.,  100. 

Lansyer,  E.,  85. 

Lefebvre,  J.  J.,  94. 

Levy,  E.,  95. 

Limoges  Faience,  111. 
Luxembourg,  Gallery  of,  (>7. 

Marine  Painters,  83. 

Meissonier,  J.  L.  E.,  99. 


Merle,  H.,  95. 

Millet,  J.  F.,  84,  93. 

Mosaics,  Manufactory  of,  71. 

National  Art  Traits,  61. 
Neuville,  A.  de,  100. 

Opera-house  (New),  105. 
Oriental  Paintings,  100. 


Paris,  Art  Traits  of,  62  ; Value  of  the  Art  of,  63. 
Pasini,  A.,  100. 

Philippoteaux,  H.  E.  F.,  100. 

Pils,  G.,  65,  106. 

Prix  (Grand)  de  Borne,  66. 

Protais,  P.  A.,  100. 


Regnault,  H.,  101. 

Robert-Fleury,  T.,  95. 

Rousseau,  T.,  85,  86. 

Russian  Industrial  Art,  111. 

Salon,  Exhibitions  of,  67  ; Committees  of,  70. 
Schenck,  A.  F.,  90. 

Sculpture  and  Sculptors,  103. 

Societe  de  TUnion  des  Artistes,  74. 

Societe  des  Amis  des  Beaux  Arts,  73. 
Sympathetic  School,  92. 

Taine,  H.  a.,  65. 

Tissot,  J.,  98. 

Toulmouche,  A.,  95. 

Troyon,  C.,  90,  91. 

Turquet,  E.,  65. 

Van  Marke,  E.,  91. 

Vernet-Lecomte,  A.,  ion. 

Vollon,  A.,  101. 

Ziem,  F.  P.,  78,  100. 


III._COXTEMPOKAKY  ART  IX  GEPwlMAXV. 


Aciienhacii,  a.,  151. 
Achenbach,  0.,  151. 
vVdam,  F.,  138. 
Ainmiiller,  M.  E.,  117. 


Animal-painters  ol’  Munich,  137. 
Architecture  and  Architects  of  Vienna,  119. 
Architecture  of  Munich,  1 1 1. 

Art  Academy  of  Munich,  1 19. 


164 


INDEX. 


Art  Growth  in  Germany,  Conditions  of,  114. 
Artists’  Ball,  Mimich,  118. 

Artists  of  Munich,  Number  of,  117. 

Battle-painters  of  Munich,  138. 

Becker,  C.,  153. 

Berlin,  Art  School  of,  116,  152;  Royal  Academy 
of,  152. 

Bleibtreu,  G.,  157. 

Bbeklin,  A.,  127,  128,  141. 

Bodenmuller,  F.,  138. 

Braith,  A.,  138. 

Brandt,  J.,  137. 

Brunner,  J.,  149. 

Brunovv,  L.,  158. 

( ’amphausen,  W.,  157. 

Canon,  H.,  149. 

Carlsruhe,  Royal  Academy  of,  151. 

(’eraraic  Art  of  Germany,  150. 

Defregger,  F.,  134,  154. 

Denmark,  Marine  Painters  of,  143. 

Diez,  W.,  137. 

Diieker,  E.,  151. 

Diisseldorf,  Art  School  of,  116,  117,  150. 

Engraving  of  Munich  School,  147. 

Fahrbach,  L.  L.,  151. 

Feuerbach,  147. 

Fleischmann,  C.  W.,  Majolica  Ware  of,  150. 

Galb,  a.,  137. 

Gebhardt,  h’  Von,  158. 

Genre  Painters  of  Berlin,  154. 

Genre  Painters  of  Munich,  133. 

Glass  Manufactory  at  Munich,  147. 

Glass-ware  of  Vienna,  150. 

Grassl,  A.,  Terra-cotta  Works  of,  150. 

Griitzner,  E.,  137. 

Glide,  H.,  143,  151. 

Gussow,  C.,  154. 

Gysis,  N.,  134. 

Hecht,  W.,  147. 

Historical  Painters  of  Berlin,  157. 

Historical  Painters  of  Munich,  128. 

Household  xVrt  of  Vienna,  150. 

Kaulbach,  F.,  128. 

Kaulbach,  W.  Von,  120,  123,  126. 


Keller,  A.,  137. 

Keller,  F.,  151. 

Knaus,  L.,  151,  154. 

Kimstverein  of  Munich,  118. 

Landscape-painters  of  Munich,  138. 

Leibl,  II.,  126. 

Lenbach,  F.,  127. 

Lier,  A.,  141. 

Lindenschmidt,  W.,  128. 

Lobmeyer  and  Co.,  Glass-ware  of,  150. 

Locher,  A.,  144. 

Loefftz,  L.,  128. 

Ludwig  L,  King,  116,  120,  123. 

Makart,  IL,  147,  148. 

Marine  Art  of  Munich,  143. 

Marine  Painters  of  Denmark,  143. 

Max,  G.,  128. 

Melby,  A.,  144. 

Melby,  W.,  144. 

Menzel,  A.,  157. 

Meyer,  Von  Bremen,  124. 

Mezgoly,  A.,  141. 

Moser,  J.,  158. 

Muller,  A.,  124. 

Muller,  V.,  128. 

Mundt,  L.,  151. 

Munich,  School  of,  116,  117;  Artists  of,  117; 
Royal  Academy  of,  119;  New  School  of, 
125;  Rathhaus  of,  128,  144. 

Neumann,  A.,  144. 

Normann,  A.,  151. 

Passini,  L.,  157. 

Pettenkofer,  A.,  149. 

Piloty,  T.  Von,  120,  126. 

Pinakothek,  the  New,  Paintings  in,  126. 
Portrait-painters  of  Munich,  127. 

Rasmussen,  J.  E .S.,  144. 

Reusch,  F.,  158. 

Richter,  G.,  153. 

Sciionleber,  G.,  143. 

Schreyer,  A.,  138. 

Sculpture  and  Sculptors  of  Berlin,  158, 

Sculpture  at  Munich,  144. 

Seitz,  0.,  124. 

Seitz,  R.,  128. 

Simmering,  R.,  1 58. 


INDEX. 


165 


Sinding,  0.,  143. 

Sorensen,  C.  F.,  144. 

Spangenberg,  G.,  157. 

Stuttgart,  Academy  of,  151  ; Art  Society  of,  151. 
Thom  A,  H.,  141. 

Vautier,  B.,  151. 

Vienna,  Art  School  of,  147 ; Royal  Academy  of, 
147. 


Voltz,  F.,  124. 


Wagner,  A.,  137. 
Weber,  P.,  124. 
Werner,  A.  Von,  157. 
Wilroider,  J.,  151. 
Windmann,  M.,  144. 
Wolff,  A.,  158. 

ZuGEL,  C.,  138. 


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considered  in  their  Connection  with  the  State 
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4 


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NICHOLS’S  ART  EDUCATION.  Art  Edu- 
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SQUIER’S  PERU.  Peru  : Incidents  of  Travel 
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“Challenger.”  By  Sir  Wtville  Thomson, 
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dex has  been  appended  to  this  American  Edi- 
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als for  its  Revision.  By  Richard 
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DRAPER’S  AMERICAN  CIVIL  POLICY. 
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WOOD’S  HOMES  WITHOUT  HANDS. 
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ney from  Teheran  across  the  Tui'koman  Des- 
ert, on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  the  Caspian,  to 
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